The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 3

Copyright
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 3
Saekisan
TRANSLATION BY NICOLE WILDER * COVER ART BY HANEKOTO
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is
coincidental.
OTONARI NO TENSHISAMA NI ITSUNOMANIKA DAMENINGEN NI

SARETEITA KEN Vol. 3
Copyright © 2020 Saekisan
Illustration copyright © 2020 Hanekoto
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2020 by SB Creative Corp.
This English edition is published by arrangement with SB Creative Corp.,
Tokyo in care of Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.
English translation © 2021 by Yen Press, LLC
Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of
copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to
produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is

a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to
use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact
the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Saekisan, author. | Hanekoto, illustrator. | Wilder, Nicole. translator.
Title: The angel next door spoils me rotten / Saekisan ; illustration by
Hanekoto ; translation by Nicole Wilder.
Other titles: Otonari no tenshi-sama ni Itsu no ma ni ka dame ningen ni
sareteita ken. English
Description: First Yen On edition. | New York : Yen On, 2020- |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020043583 | ISBN 9781975319236 (v. 1 ; trade
paperback) | ISBN 9781975322694 (v. 2 ; trade paperback) | ISBN
9781975333409 (v. 3 ; trade paperback)
Subjects: CYAC: Love—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S2413 An 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020043583
ISBNs: 978-1-9753-3340-9 (paperback)

978-1-9753-3341-6 (ebook)
E3-20211112-JV-NF-ORI
Contents
Cover
Insert
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1: The Start of the New Semester

Chapter 2: Contact with the Prince
Chapter 3: The Angel and an Unwanted Imposition
Chapter 4: The Angel’s Decision
Chapter 5: Contact with the Angel and the Reaction from Others
Chapter 6: The Angel in Cooking Class
Chapter 7: The Angel’s Proposal
Chapter 8: Fooling Around in the Angel’s Cooking Classroom
Chapter 9: An Outing with the Angel
Chapter 10: An Interrogation
Chapter 11: None but You
Chapter 12: Parental Concern and a Passing Pain
Chapter 13: A Premonition of Trouble After the Holidays
Afterword
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“Listen, I’m not a kid anymore, you know.” Amane’s exasperation was
obvious from the way he answered his mother’s phone call. He was about to
attend the school entrance ceremony that marked the start of his second year
of high school, after all.
Amane couldn’t decide whether he was more impressed or irritated by her
ability to time her call for the one free moment in his busy morning routine.
She worries too much, he thought as he sank into the sofa.
His mother had gotten used to the idea of him living alone, but she was
clearly still concerned that an old wound of his might have opened again,
dredging up memories of something from his second year of middle school.
As far as Amane was concerned, though the scar ached sometimes, it
never bothered him much. And more importantly, he didn’t want to worry his
parents.
“I’m fine. Really—I’ll be all right on my own.”
“You come tell me anytime it gets tough, okay? Oh, even better, you can
lean on sweet Mahiru!”
“Yeah, yeah…”
Why is she so hung up on Mahiru and me?
His mother had taken a liking to Mahiru and clearly wanted them to spend
more time together, but Amane felt like it was really none of her business.
When it came to matters of romance, he didn’t ask for or want any parental
meddling, even if she only meant well.
Page 1 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com

Most of all, Amane didn’t want his mother to figure out just how fond of
Mahiru he really was, so he opted to kept quiet and didn’t engage.
“I bet Mahiru would be very receptive.”
“Uh-huh…”
“At any rate, if you’re having a rough time, make sure to ask someone for
help, okay? It can be anyone. I still think Mahiru would be just perfect, but
—”
“Look, I’ve gotta go soon, so I’m hanging up. Thanks for worrying about
me so early in the morning.”
Amane didn’t want his mother speculating about his relationship with
Mahiru any further, so he quickly thanked her and ended the call. He could
already imagine her on the other end of the line, probably pouting in
displeasure.
She was concerned about him, but she was worrying way too much.
His scars did ache, but not so much that it would bring him to his knees.
Besides, it wouldn’t bother him if he just didn’t think about it.
…Better to not reach out if I don’t need to.
As long as the people I trust stay with me, everything’ll be fine.
Amane wasn’t worried about the class changes for the new semester.
After all, there was nothing he could do, so he’d decided to do his best to
accept whatever came.
Staring at his own gloomy, melancholic reflection in the darkened screen
of his phone, Amane smiled bleakly.
If Chitose and Itsuki saw me like this, they’d slap me right on the back, he
thought as he stood up from the sofa and left for the first day of school.
Walking to school after two weeks off felt a bit nostalgic. After arriving,
Amane approached the central bulletin board, intending to check the rosters
for each class posted there.
Although he had come a little earlier than usual, it was the start of the new
semester, so plenty of other students were already there—and surprisingly,
one of them was his friend Itsuki, who emerged from the crowd to greet him.
“Yo, what’s up, Amane. Looks like you just got here.”
“Morning. Is the sky falling or something? I can’t believe you got here
before I did.”

“My dad chased me out of the house,” Itsuki replied with a small grin.
“He said I should at least be early for the first day.” He shrugged, as if there
was nothing interesting about it.
Itsuki was at odds with his father, as usual. Since meeting Chitose, he
didn’t seem inclined to do anything his parents wanted. Itsuki’s father
stubbornly refused to approve of his relationship with Chitose, and ever since
then, the two of them never saw eye to eye. Of course, Itsuki’s father could
be pretty stern, even before his son had started dating, Amane thought that he
was overall an earnest and sensible man—and a decent parent.
That said, Itsuki’s current situation really made Amane appreciate his
relationship with his own parents. They could be more than a little
overbearing at times, but on the whole, they respected their son’s wishes, and
Amane almost never argued with them. After all, they had gone to a lot of
trouble to send him to school far away from his hometown. And they never
gave him a hard time about who he associated with—if anything, they fully
supported him on that front.
Amane hadn’t told his parents about his feelings toward Mahiru, but they
were obviously quite taken with her—even openly mentioning that she’d
make a wonderful daughter-in-law. If by some slim chance he did one day
happen to find himself in that sort of relationship with Mahiru, Amane was
sure his parents would approve.
Amane was well aware that he was blessed with a loving family.
…Considering Mahiru’s situation, I’ve seriously got it made, huh?
Amane fell into an uncomfortable silence as he recalled the chilling
expression he’d seen Mahiru’s mother brandish, only for Itsuki to flash him a
flippant grin. It seemed like he had already regained his usual cheer.
“Well, my dad’s not worth worrying about. Come on, let’s check out the
class lists.”
“From the way you’re smiling, I can more or less guess what got posted.”
Amane shot Itsuki a weary look when he saw his friend’s ordinary smile
had become a devious grin, then searched for his own name among the crowd
of students who were doing the same.
It didn’t take him long to spot his name. As he started confirming who his
classmates would be for the year, Itsuki’s impish smile began to make more
sense.
There were many familiar names on the roll sheet.

Several belonged to students who had been in his class last year—namely,
Itsuki and the boy who was often referred to as the prince, Yuuta Kadowaki.
Amane also spied Chitose’s name, which certainly explained Itsuki’s
good mood.
And there was one more he recognized.
Mahiru Shiina—the name of his next-door neighbor who always looked
after him, the secret object of his affections.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear somebody planned it all out.
Of course, class assignments were decided by the school administration,
meaning Amane and his friends had no say where they ended up, but he
never expected to be placed with so many familiar faces.
“We got real lucky, didn’t we, Amane?”
“I don’t know what’s so great about it. I guess it’s a relief to have you
with me.”
“What’s up, you getting embarrassed for once?”
“Shut it. And if anyone’s lucky, it’s gotta be you, right? Being in the same
class as Chitose and all.”
“I really am, man. I was worried that they’d heartlessly tear us two lovers
apart…”
“On second thought, maybe putting some distance between you two
would’ve been better for everybody.”
With this excitable couple around, there wouldn’t be a single moment of
boredom—or peace. And their constant displays of affection were almost
guaranteed to bother all the single students.
Amane was happy to be in the same class as his friends Itsuki and
Chitose, but on the other hand, he could already tell that this year was going
to be turbulent and difficult.
“Why so harsh? Ah, don’t tell me—it’s because you’re single, right?”
“Try saying that to the other guys. If looks could kill, man.”
“I’m joking, I’m joking! But seriously, this turned out pretty great, yeah?
You finally get to be in the same class as the girl you like.”
“…Shut up.” Amane turned sharply away from Itsuki’s teasing.
A cheerful voice interrupted their banter. “I could be wrong, but Fujimiya
looks a little pissed, doesn’t he?” There was a quiet laugh. “He’ll start to hate
you if you tease him too much, Itsuki.”
Amane felt himself frown as he looked up and saw Yuuta, the class

prince, standing beside Itsuki with one hand resting on his shoulder.
It was impossible to miss the flickering glances gathering on him in the
hallway. This level of attention must have been completely normal to him,
because he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. Yuuta was just showing
Amane a friendly smile.
“Morning. We’re in the same class again this year. Looking forward to it.”
It didn’t seem like a very significant interaction. He had seen Itsuki and
Amane conversing by the bulletin board and had come over to greet them.
Yuuta got along okay with Itsuki, so that wasn’t strange, but it was unusual
for him to be so friendly with Amane.
Amane felt a little uncomfortable talking with such a popular guy. There
was nothing wrong with Yuuta as a person, but Amane disliked attracting too
much attention.
Besides, making new friends like this at the beginning of the new
semester threatened to remind him of the past. The pain welling up slowly
but steadily from the deep crevices of his chest was nostalgic. It was a feeling
he thought he had buried a long time ago.
“…Fujimiya?”
“Eh? Ah, sorry; I spaced out for a second. Hope we have a good year.”
Amane smiled back weakly at Yuuta, who was now frowning slightly,
looking worried for a moment before finally letting his face soften into a
relieved smile.
You should save a smile like that for your fangirls, Amane thought briefly.
But Yuuta looked genuinely happy, so Amane was also relieved.
At that point, a couple other boys came over, and Yuuta left to chat with
them.
Itsuki, who had been silent until then, had his eyes fixed on Amane, as if
he was forming some conjecture. “Is it just me, or are you on your guard
around Yuuta?”
“…No, that’s not it. It’s just… I was thinking how weird it is for him to
try to be friends with me.”
“Really, dude? You’re always way too hard on yourself. Look, it’s not
like Yuuta has some ulterior motive for being friendly with you, ya know?
Not everyone who acts nice is looking to gain some advantage. You’re one
cagy guy, Amane.”
“I’m sure that’s true,” Amane replied, “but—” The moment he noticed

Itsuki glaring at him with exasperation, he gulped back down the words he
was going to say next. —But there are people like that out there.
Not that he suspected Yuuta was one of them or anything.
They had only spent the past year as classmates in passing, but even so,
Amane knew that Yuuta was a good guy. With his kind, honest, charming
personality, it was hardly a mystery why the boy was popular, and no wonder
he had lots of friends.
Still, this particular time of year brought back many unpleasant memories
for Amane, and it made him extra suspicious, even when he knew there was
no reason to be.
“It doesn’t really have anything to do with what kind of guy Kadowaki is.
I’m just shy, so I get spooked when someone suddenly wants to talk to me.”
“Well, I guess that’s fair. You are the shy type. The first time we talked,
you got all wound up like a nervous cat.”
“Who’re you calling a cat?”
“Tell me I’m wrong. Timid and quiet as could be as long as no one
touched you, but the moment someone made contact, bam, your hackles
would be up.”
Amane frowned at Itsuki’s analogy. As a cat lover, he didn’t appreciate
his sulky attitude being lumped in with such adorable, free-spirited creatures.
“Anyway, I think you’d get along with Yuuta if you gave him a chance.
Since middle school, we’ve been in the same class for three years, so I can
vouch for him. He’s a good dude.”
“I can tell that just by watching him, but it’s my feelings that are the
problem. Besides, I’ve never really talked with him…”
“I’m pretty sure it won’t be long before he changes that himself.”
“Wait, why?”
“What do you mean? It’s ’cause even Yuuta can tell you’re a good guy.”
Itsuki said that with another big grin, but Amane frowned reflexively. He
simply didn’t understand.
“Mooorniiing! Looks like we’re in the same class this year!”

After Amane entered his new classroom, found his assigned seat, and
checked that there were no mistakes in his school paperwork, Chitose
approached him, looking like she’d just gotten out of bed.

This year, both Chitose and Itsuki were in his class, so he knew this was
only the first of many boisterous and heartburn-inducing days.
“Good morning. You didn’t come with Itsuki today, huh?”
“Yeah, I overslept. Honestly, I totally forgot about the new semester, and
my mom had to wake me up. Where’s Itsuki?”
“He went to the vending machines a minute ago.”
“Gotcha. Guess I’ll message him and ask for a milk tea. Ah, Mahirun,
Mahirun! We’re in the same class this year! I can’t wait!”
Waving her hands excitedly, Chitose, who wasn’t bashful around anyone,
bounded over to Mahiru, who had just entered the classroom. Mahiru,
surrounded by a slew of boys and girls, blinked in surprise. Everyone around
her stiffened when they heard Chitose address her so casually, but when
Mahiru reacted normally and instantly donned her angelic smile, it was clear
that Chitose was permitted to talk to her that way. That was when the crowd’s
mood changed to one of jealousy.
Watching Chitose rush over to Mahiru with so much energy that early in
the morning left Amane feeling equal parts frustration and admiration. When
his gaze fell on Mahiru, their eyes met for a moment, and he thought he saw a
flicker of change in her soft smile. But the next instant, she shifted her gaze
back to Chitose with a tender look in her eyes.

“Mahirun, school lets out early today, so let’s go eat crepes on the way
home! The crepe place in front of the station is super tasty!”
“That sounds nice. I’d like to go if you really don’t mind.”
It might have been Amane’s imagination, but he thought he saw her
glance in his direction again. As far as Amane was concerned, she certainly
didn’t need to get his permission every time she wanted to go somewhere,
and he had no intention of being a burden who kept her from going out when
she wanted. He could always eat fast food or go to a convenience store for
lunch. Mahiru was cultivating a budding friendship, and Amane was happy
for her.
Chitose was very good at connecting with people like that, so he hoped
they would have fun together—and that she would show Mahiru, who didn’t
typically hang out with many other people, a good time without wearing her
out too much.
Mahiru was probably the one who would benefit most from having
Chitose in the same class. She was already smiling happily, despite Chitose’s
intensity. Amane felt a smile of his own slide into place.
The first day of the new semester consisted of an opening ceremony, then
self-introductions and general announcements in the classroom. Once that
was all over, the students were dismissed.
Since school let out before lunchtime, Amane had been planning to eat
with Mahiru, but instead, he bought a boxed lunch from the convenience
store he had come to rely on less and less frequently. After getting home and
devouring his basic meal, he sprawled out lazily on the sofa.
Amane had many acquaintances in his new class, and from what he could
tell, most of the other students were on the calm side, so it seemed like he
would be able to manage one way or another. It was a huge relief to know so
many of his classmates. It would have been depressing to spend a year’s
worth of classes without even one friend.
Amane had enough self-awareness to understand he had a gloomy
disposition, so he expected it would be quite a hurdle to make new friends
and get to know them. He had a hard time trusting people in general.
While idly thinking about what a feat it was to have befriended Itsuki and
lauding his past self for his foresight, Amane slowly let his eyes slide shut.

Being in an unfamiliar classroom had been a bit taxing. Coupled with
post-meal sleepiness, it meant that Amane drifted off in no time.
For Amane, brushing up against the memories he had sealed away brought a
small yet sharp pain, like grazing a hangnail.
Normally, he was able to forget about them and chase them to the depths
of his mind by focusing on the many good things in his life.
Since meeting Mahiru, he had barely even thought about them anymore,
and when the memories did reappear, they were like bubbles that burst the
moment they hit the surface of the water. Those pinpricks only lingered
briefly. The recent, sudden increase might have been due to the new school
year, or maybe it had been triggered when he learned about Mahiru’s past. Or
possibly because he’d realized that Itsuki, who had been his first new friend
after everything had happened, was also buddies with Yuuta.
“Let’s have a great year.”
There had been another boy once who had said that and extended a hand
to Amane.
At the time, Amane had been more trusting—and less wary of others. He
had always been surrounded by good people and never learned to recognize
when someone meant to hurt him.
And so he didn’t doubt the boy. He didn’t doubt any of them.
“—You…from the very start—”
Amane jolted awake, and the words he knew came next faded away.
Through blurry eyes, he could see spring sunlight streaming in through the
window, gently illuminating the dark, familiar apartment.
There was no one there except Amane and no sound other than his own
breathing, which was rougher than usual.
He let out a heavy sigh as he looked at the clock and noted that about an
hour had passed since he’d dozed off. A considerable nap, but Amane still
felt completely exhausted, probably because of his bad dreams.
Given how tired his body and mind felt, he could have easily gone to
sleep again, but he had suddenly lost any inclination to try and rest.
I should at least wash my face and clear my head.
Hoping that a little fresh water might wash away any lingering dregs of

melancholy, Amane headed for the sink.
“…You don’t look so good, Amane.”

Although he had washed up, the hazy feeling in Amane’s chest hadn’t
cleared up. It had only receded just enough for him to stow it in the depths of
his heart and wait to forget about it again. He thought he’d managed to wipe
any traces of it from his expression so he wouldn’t arouse Mahiru’s
suspicions, but she was very perceptive and wouldn’t be fooled so easily. She
had come by after her outing with Chitose, and when they had settled down
after dinner, she studied Amane’s face and questioned him.
“…Are you feeling sick?”
“No, nothing like that… Uh, it’s just that…I took a nap, but I had kind of
a bad dream, I guess.”
“Oh, you had a nightmare?” She gave him an inquisitive look.
“Mm, sort of.” Amane shook his head. “Not a big deal, really. No need to
worry.” It was a thin excuse.
Mahiru is sharp. She’ll leave it at that if it’s clear that’s what I want.
She’s the type to let up if she knows I don’t want to talk right now.
Amane didn’t want to shut her out completely, but it was still a sore spot
for him, so he kept her at a bit of a distance. He knew Mahiru wouldn’t press
the issue.
Mahiru seemed to have sensed that Amane had no intention of opening up
at the moment, and she was simply staring intently at him with focused
caramel-colored eyes. She clearly wasn’t angry, or sad, or troubled. It made
him feel a little awkward, but Mahiru didn’t stop staring, as if to say she
understood what he was going through.
“What is it?”
“Nothing; just thinking that your hair looks especially soft.”
“Huh?”
He had been on his guard, wondering what she was going to say next, so
this sudden non sequitur caught him by surprise. He had been anticipating an
interrogation of some sort, so the mention of his hair left him struggling to
respond.
Mahiru was examining Amane’s hair with her usual expression.
“Can I touch it?”

“What is this, all of a sudden…? I mean, you can if you like, but—”
“Oh really? In that case, come here.”
Mahiru moved to the edge of the sofa and patted her lap.
Amane responded once more with, “Huh?”
He didn’t understand.
“Put your head here so I can reach.”

“No, no, no.”
Mahiru stared quietly at Amane, who shook his head sharply at this
incredibly unusual development. Amane was extremely confused as to why
she had suddenly proposed such a thing. Mahiru, on the other hand, seemed
perfectly calm, which only heightened his confusion.
“Is there something wrong with my lap?”
“N-no, that’s not—”
He quickly shook his head when he detected the displeasure in her voice.
The opportunity to rest your head in the lap of the person you like is a rare
moment of exceptional good luck.
But whether he should simply go along and accept the favor was a
different question entirely. No matter how much physical contact they’d had
before, laying his head in her lap was a whole new level of intimacy. There
was a good chance he would die of embarrassment. Their hug the other day
had been urgent and for the sake of soothing and comforting Mahiru, so he
hadn’t felt too self-conscious then, but this was a whole other matter.
“It’s fine; just get over here already.”
“N-no, that’s…”
“Amane.”
“…Fine.”
He had been trying to resist, but his willpower crumbled the moment
Mahiru called his name with a smile. Her latent powers of persuasion
revealed themselves once again as she invitingly smoothed the fabric of her
skirt, wiping out all remaining pockets of resistance.
Thank goodness she’s wearing a long skirt, he thought from the bottom of
his heart as he hesitantly went to lie down on the sofa to rest his head in
Mahiru’s lap. He had his back to her, looking out over her knees, as he felt
the firm softness of her thighs.
Her slim legs, lean but still undeniably feminine, supported the weight of
his head perfectly. Her lap was at just the right height, and he could smell her
faint, sweet scent and feel the heat of her body. The last of his willpower
dissolved as she brought a hand down and gently brushed his cheek.
“What would you do if I did something really rude while I was down
here?” he muttered in a brusque voice, making his final attempt to put up a
fight.
He heard a quiet laugh.

“I guess I would stand right up and then stomp on you.”
“Sorry I asked.”
Recently, Mahiru had been a bit more reserved, so hearing her tease him
after so long was almost nostalgic. Amane apologized right away, in case the
threat was serious, but Mahiru was smiling in amusement at Amane’s
reaction.
“Well, I know you wouldn’t do anything like that. You don’t seem to have
the courage or the energy.”
He had some complicated feelings about being called a coward so
casually, but the truth was that he did not, in fact, have the nerve to try
anything because he thought Mahiru would hate him if he did, so she wasn’t
exactly wrong.
“Well, why don’t you just relax instead? It’ll be easier to reach you if you
settle down.”
Amane didn’t have much reason to refuse as she gently ran her white
fingers through his black hair, so he kept his mouth shut.
…She must be worried about me.
This was probably Mahiru’s way of cheering him up.
Amane guessed that she realized he was feeling stressed lately and
decided to help him decompress. He wasn’t sure why her first thought was
that it would be relaxing for him to lie down on her lap like this, but it was
actually surprisingly comfortable, so he wasn’t going to complain. And his
heart wasn’t pounding as hard as he’d expected, possibly because he was so
worn out.
A pleasant drowsiness washed over him. He had no idea it could feel so
nice to have someone gently comb their fingers through his hair. It had been a
long time since he had been spoiled by someone like this, and he wasn’t sure
what, if anything, he should do. He could feel himself sinking gradually into
a deep sea of happiness and contentment. It probably wouldn’t be long before
he was on the cusp of sleep.
Just as soft slumber was about to completely overtake him, Amane heard
Mahiru say, “Well, doesn’t the young gentleman have a single thing to say
about what it’s like to lay his head in a young lady’s lap?”
His eyes snapped open as he exhaled sharply.
“Ah, well, see—”
“I heard from Chitose that when a boy is tired, if you let him lie down on

your lap, it’s like a dream come true and should help him feel better.”
Amane now realized he had Chitose’s meddling to thank for this unusual
bit of intimacy. Though, he couldn’t honestly say she’d been completely off
the mark. Actually, he really ought to thank her.
Amane pursed his lips as he thought about how he should answer
Mahiru’s question. While he ruminated, she kept tapping his cheek with her
finger.
Frankly, it was the greatest feeling ever, and he wished he could enjoy it
every day. But he was worried if he said that, she would be disgusted or taken
aback, so he didn’t say anything at all.
He couldn’t be completely honest, but on the other hand, he had to say
something nice. He was being pampered here, so he couldn’t lie and claim it
wasn’t all that special. However, he could practically envision himself saying
something dumb and blunt that would drive her away.
After puzzling over it for a few moments, Amane decided to respond with
some mild praise.
“…I think it’s really great. But don’t take that to mean anything weird.”
“How can I when it’s the first time I’ve done it?”
Amane couldn’t keep his heart from leaping at the words first time. He
remembered that she didn’t like getting too close to boys and really avoided
most physical contact altogether. Of course he would be the first.
When he realized how much Mahiru must trust him to let him get so
close, Amane felt his chest and face grow hot. But Mahiru didn’t seem to
notice and simply kept running her fingers through his hair with an air of
satisfaction.
“Well, it’s something I wanted to try, so you just sit back and relax. I’m
only petting you anyway.”
“…I guess.”
Mahiru emphasized that she was just doing as she pleased, so he didn’t
need to hold back or be anxious. Feeling a bit sheepish about it all, Amane
decided to take Mahiru up on her offer.
“…Amane, what do you think of our class this year?”
She had played with his hair in silence for a little while before casually
posing the question.
“Hmm, well, I never thought we’d end up in the same class.”
He’d been hoping to have at least one friend in his class, but it hadn’t

occurred to him that everyone could end up together.
“Heh-heh. It was fun to see you so stunned.”
“Hey… But yeah, it definitely caught me by surprise. I’ll have to be
vigilant.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll need to keep my distance so I don’t speak to you too casually or act
overly familiar.”
On the one hand, Amane felt relieved that his friends would be nearby,
but on the other hand, since Mahiru was there, he would have to be careful
about how they interacted. He would avoid talking to her whenever he could,
but if he slipped up and let on that they were close, it would probably become
a huge spectacle.
In spite of his feelings, he didn’t want to be indiscreet about his
relationship with Mahiru at school. As far as Amane was concerned, as long
as they could spend time together at home, that was fine by him. He had no
desire to go out of his way to make enemies out of most of the boys at school.
As long as people didn’t know about their relationship, they wouldn’t try
to talk to him. He planned on acting like the two of them were strangers.
Thinking that surely Mahiru must understand, he let his eyes close—but she
pinched his cheek between her fingers.
“…What’s wrong?”
“…Oh, nothing. I understand your logic, but I couldn’t let it slide without
doing anything, so…”
“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
She seemed very sulky for some reason, but there was nothing Amane
could do. He surmised that she wanted the two of them to talk like they
always did, even at school. After all, she could relax around him. But she
wasn’t the one who’d end up in trouble.
If Amane had been a popular and attractive guy—like Itsuki, for example
—then maybe the two of them could hang out whenever and wherever they
wanted. But since Amane was not popular or even sociable, it was a different
story entirely.
It wasn’t hard to imagine that there might be people who would decide
that Amane wasn’t worthy of the angel’s attention and hound him.
Amane was accustomed to being alone. What he didn’t need was the ire
of his classmates.

“…Well, I’ll go along with it…for now,” Mahiru said eventually.
“I dunno how I feel about that ‘for now’…but it’s a start.”
“We’ll still act normal at home, though, right?”
“Of course… But if we’re going to act normal, shouldn’t I get out of your
lap?”
“This doesn’t count.”
Mahiru announced this strange exception and brushed Amane’s hair
again. Or rather, she played with it like she was kneading it. Amane knew
that if he said anything more, Mahiru would pout again, and as long as he
kept his mouth shut, he could keep savoring this blissful moment. It was an
easy decision.
Maybe because she was pleased by Amane’s silent and docile reception,
Mahiru started arranging his hair more deliberately.
Her movements were gentle and affectionate, as well as a little awkward,
but Amane submitted to the comforting sensation, and it wasn’t long before
he was utterly at her mercy.
…I’m really being spoiled…
If she kept this up, he would without a doubt sink into the deepest of
slumbers. He felt his eyes start to drift closed again as he basked in Mahiru’s
warmth, and another wave of sleepiness washed over him. Truly, there was
no defying the lulling power of the angel’s lap.
He resisted the urge to roll over toward her and burrow into the inviting
warmth and surround himself with her smell. He knew that if he did that,
there would be no turning back, so he deliberately kept his back to her, just
barely holding his ground.
As Mahiru continued stroking his head affectionately, he began to feel
heavy, and after another moment of resistance, he finally surrendered to the
irresistible comfort.
“…You look sleepy.”
He heard her quiet murmur but no longer had the energy to lift his eyelids.
“It’s all right; I’ll wake you up in a bit. Go ahead and rest.”
As he listened to her soft whispers, Amane could no longer stay awake
and quickly yielded to the embrace of the sandman.
When he lifted his heavy eyelids, Amane was looking up at two mountains

covered by a blouse, and beyond that, Mahiru’s face, wearing a tender
expression. He immediately sat up, eyes wide with surprise.
Apparently, he had turned over at some point in his sleep to face the
ceiling. Because of that, he had been greeted with a rather bracing view upon
waking, and his heart was thumping strangely.
“…How long was I out for?”
At this question, Mahiru let slip a faint smile.
“About an hour. You look so cute when you’re sleeping.”
“Don’t stare at me, geez.”
“You’re one to talk.”
He had attempted to rebuke Mahiru for her teasing, but she immediately
turned the tables on him. It was true, he had watched Mahiru sleep several
times before—and had gone as far as to touch her face once—so he really
didn’t have much room to complain.
“I let you see me with my guard down, so I thought it was time to even
the score.”
“But you fell asleep all on your own…so…mghnhgh…”
“Oh, so you’re talking back to me now?”
She gently pinched both his cheeks.
“Showwy…,” Amane meekly apologized, still struggling to talk properly.
“Very well. Good grief.”
Apparently satisfied with Amane’s apology, Mahiru stopped tugging at
his cheeks and started poking at them instead. In the end, it didn’t change the
fact that she was touching his face, but Amane had also pinched her, so this
was his just deserts.
His cheeks were less pliable and stretchy than Mahiru’s, so he didn’t see
how pinching them could be all that much fun. Still, Mahiru kept it up with a
happy smile, slowing tracing a finger down his cheek.
“You look much better now.”
“Did I really look that worn out earlier?”
“Not exactly. But I see you every day, so I can tell. I mean, you notice
whenever I’m having a hard time, right, Amane?”
“Guess that’s true.”
“It’s that sort of thing.”
Mahiru made this declaration with a blank expression, then traced over
Amane’s cheek again and smiled impishly.

“Whenever things get tough, I want you to lean on me, okay? Just like
you let me lean on you.”
“…I’ll try.”
Suddenly, Mahiru pinched him again, gripping his cheeks between her
thumbs and two fingers.
Hoping to save his poor face from further pinch-related damage, he
replied in a panic, “F-fine, I understand!”
Mahiru nodded in satisfaction. “Good.”
“…This is coercion, you know.”
“Women can be forceful when we need to be. Besides, I never let anyone
other than you see me behave this way, so there’s no problem, really.”
“Uh, there’s plenty of problems.”
If anything, that’s scarier.
Mahiru had also just admitted that she gave Amane special treatment. But
she didn’t seem particularly concerned about the implications of what she just
said and simply smiled when she saw Amane’s obvious embarrassment.
“You dummy,” Amane muttered, turning away in a weak attempt to hide
his chagrin.

Even though he and Mahiru now had class together, Amane’s daily life had
hardly changed at all. He diligently attended school like a good student, ate
lunch with Itsuki in the cafeteria, and went home afterward because he wasn’t
in a club. He almost never interacted with Mahiru. Everything was as it
should be.
One thing that had changed a little bit was that he’d started talking with
Yuuta more than during their first year.
That said, it wasn’t Amane’s idea. Rather, Yuuta often approached him,
and Amane did his best to handle the attention despite his obvious confusion.
The day of the opening ceremony, he had felt for an instant that the events
of the past might be repeating, and that had naturally set him on edge. But
Yuuta was clearly a different kind of person than his former friend.
Amane was still slightly on guard, but that didn’t mean he wanted to
awkwardly keep Yuuta at arm’s length, and as they spent time together,
Amane began to recognize that Yuuta was a cheerful, honest, and
compassionate young man. Above all, he had Itsuki’s seal of approval, so
Amane didn’t think he was someone who demanded his suspicion.
After attending his first week of school as a second-year high school
student, Amane noticed that the pain he had been harboring for so long began
to fade.
“Hey, are you cool with this?”

Sitting across from Amane, Itsuki said that as if he had suddenly

remembered to ask.
At the moment, they were having lunch in the cafeteria just like they had
done since their first year.
Sometimes Chitose would join them, but today she was off eating with
Mahiru. Amane was glad the two of them got along, even in public.
“Cool with what?”
“I mean: keeping things as they are with you know who.”
“There’s no need to go out of my way to talk to her at school.”
By which I mean, if I speak to her, everyone around us is going to stare
and wonder where I got the nerve.
It wouldn’t do for meek, unfashionable Amane to be seen approaching
Mahiru.
“Dude, she’s just itching to talk to you, and it shows.”
“…Yeah, I noticed.”
Mahiru seemed to be doing her best to ignore Amane, but every now and
then she would slip up and stare over at him glumly.
So far, she’d only done it when nobody else was looking, but Chitose had
taken it upon herself to start giving Amane dirty looks on Mahiru’s behalf, so
it was becoming harder and harder to endure.
“You need to transform. There’s no other way.”
“No way; dressing up like that is a huge pain, and you know I don’t like
the attention.”
Besides, even if the rumors had settled down for the moment, some
people had seen him out and about with Mahiru, even if they hadn’t
recognized him. If people made the connection that Amane was the mystery
man, things would probably get so hectic it would derail his whole high
school career.
“Why are you like this…? And honestly, you could be so popular.”
“That makes no sense.”
Amane couldn’t imagine changing his hair a little bit and suddenly
becoming popular, but Itsuki seemed convinced for some reason.
“I think you’ve got the kind of personality that girls want in a boyfriend.
You’ve got a cynical side, but you’re also sincere, and you’re the type of guy
who treats girls well.”
“…Isn’t that normal?”
“I think there are a lot of guys who can’t even do that much. Like, you’re

the type who can figure out what a girl wants and then make it happen. You
don’t make a big deal out of it; you just pay attention and then act on what
you see.”
“…You sound awfully sure about this.”
“If you weren’t that type of guy, do you really think that a cautious girl
who’s always hiding behind a guarded smile would have ever gotten attached
to you?”
When he put it that way, Amane couldn’t refute his friend’s theory.
He bit his lip hard as he mulled it over, and Itsuki laughed.
“…Also, can I say one thing?” his friend continued.
“What?”
“If you weren’t into her, you probably wouldn’t treat her as well as you
do.”
“Shut up. Is it so bad being nice to someone?”
Itsuki could read him like a book. There was no hiding how he felt.
Amane turned away and began sulkily slurping up the noodles he’d ordered
for lunch.
Rather than teasing him further, Itsuki nodded sagely and acted
impressed.
“If you ask me, you oughtta be happy. It’s a wonderful thing to find
someone to treasure.”
“Oh, you think you’re an expert?”
“I know I am.”
“…I don’t really care whether we get together. If there’s someone out
there who would make her happy, I don’t mind if it’s not me.”
If Mahiru chose some other, unknown man and was really, truly happy
with him, Amane would give them his blessing. If anyone deserved
happiness, it was Mahiru. Of course, he very much wanted to be the one to
make her happy, but if she ended up finding fulfillment elsewhere, he
wouldn’t balk at swallowing his feelings.
“…You’re such a wuss.”
“And you’re a jackass… Look, I do want to make her happy, I do, but—”
“Then just tell her that already.”
“I can’t just come out and say it, you moron!”
How can I confess my feelings if I haven’t even figured them out myself?
Mahiru was so cautious when it came to relationships that Amane was

sure there was no way she would be willing to go out with someone for fun
or just to try things out. It was all or nothing.
And given everything with Mahiru’s parents, she’s not likely to agree to
date so easily anyway.
“…You are a serious late bloomer.”
“Shut up. It’s fine; I can get her to like me in my own way.”
“…Well, as an objective observer, I think it’d be better if you tell her
everything straight up, but—”
“But what?”
“…Nothing,” Itsuki muttered. “…All right; good luck. I’m rooting for
you.”
Amane frowned, but he was actually really grateful for his friend’s
somewhat-exasperated encouragement.
“Oh, Fujimiya, don’t see you here often.”

Amane had stopped by the local arcade after school. He was just inserting
a bill into the change machine when he heard a familiar voice.
He stuffed his change into his wallet and turned around to find Yuuta
standing there. He had apparently also come to play games and was standing
behind Amane with his wallet in one hand.
“Kadowaki? You’re an even rarer sight. What happened to track club?”
“We have a break today. It’s not good to work the body too hard day after
day.”
“Ah.”
So the school’s top track-and-field star takes a vacation once in a while,
too, eh?
Amane stepped back from the machine, and Yuuta inserted his bills and
waited for the change. Once he’d deposited about two thousand yen worth of
coins back in his wallet, Yuuta noticed Amane staring at him and smiled.
“I’m surprised to find you in a place like this, Fujimiya. You don’t seem
like you would appreciate the noise much.”
“I hit up game centers like everyone else. I just don’t like to waste money,
so I don’t go that often.”
“Hmm. Well, what did you come for today?”
“I wanted to check out the crane games. I got an order to pick up a stuffed

animal.”
Actually, it was more like Chitose had shown him the NEW ARRIVALS
page of the game center’s website and pointed out which ones Mahiru might
like, so he had decided to get one as a present for Mahiru, since she had
seemed a little down lately.
Also, as he had seen in the infamous photo Chitose had sent him,
Mahiru’s apartment was quite sparse. So he was hoping to win a cute friend
for the teddy bear he’d already gotten her.
“Do you think you can win a stuffed animal?”
“It’s kind of my specialty.”
The crane arms at this particular arcade were stronger than usual, so it was
easy to pick up the toys. As long as he accounted for the balance and position
of the stuffed animals when controlling the crane, it was surprisingly easy to
snag a prize.
It was actually his mother who had taught him how, way back in
elementary school. “This one, you see? If you bring the arm down right here,
you can get it no problem. And this one is good, too. Just hook the tag with
the arm.” It was one of many pointless talents that had rubbed off on him.
Yuuta was giving him an incredulous look, so Amane led his classmate
over to the corner crammed with all the crane games. He decided to try his
luck on a machine in the new-arrivals section filled with stuffed rabbits.
Amane casually put a coin in the slot. Judging by the placement of the
stuffed animals and the size of the crane arm, a single coin would be enough.
Some prizes took a lot of money to win, but one of these stuffed rabbits—a
character Amane didn’t recognize—should be easy.
He aimed the crane at the place where the rabbit’s head and body met and
skillfully guided the arm into place, catching the head and avoiding the body.
As the crane came back up, it brought the prize with it, secured by the head.
When he took his hand off the lever, the stuffed rabbit tumbled down the
prize shoot with a plop.
Amane casually pulled it out and turned to show Yuuta, who looked
impressed.
“Wow!”
“The crane arms at this game center are strong, and the staff are friendly,
so if you get stuck, they’ll show you how to win. It’s a good place for

beginners, too.”
“So that’s why Itsuki and the others said this place would be good? I see
now.” Yuuta nodded. “By the way, is that a gift for someone in particular?”
“Yeah. Someone who takes good care of me. I want to show my
appreciation.”
Well, it’s not a lie.
I just conveniently left out the fact that I’m talking about Mahiru. It’s true
she takes care of me, and I am grateful for what she does every day.
He also quite simply thought Mahiru would look adorable surrounded by
stuffed animals, so his choice of gift was not entirely innocent.
“You’re a really thoughtful guy, Fujimiya. But I knew that already.”
“What do you mean, you knew that?”
“Well, you’re sensitive, and you always act like a gentleman. Plus, you
help people out without making a big deal of it.”
“Sometimes, I guess.”
“Even if it’s only sometimes, you helped me. Like with the bags and stuff,
that was a big help.” Yuuta thanked him again with a bright smile, and
Amane felt slightly embarrassed.
It really wasn’t a big deal, but apparently Yuuta still remembered it.
Amane usually had shopping bags on hand anyway, and it hadn’t been his
intention to make Yuuta feel indebted to him.
“…Oh yeah, did you eat all that Valentine’s chocolate, Kadowaki?”
Amane asked, trying to move past the awkwardness he felt when confronted
with Yuuta’s overflowing gratitude.
Yuuta’s expression grew cloudy. “Ah… Can you keep a secret? I only ate
the store-bought ones.”
“You didn’t eat the handmade ones?”
“…The handmade chocolates are… How do I put this? I’m sure there are
some girls who can make them well, but—”
“They’re bad?”
“No, it’s just… Sometimes they have hairs in them or other things that
clearly shouldn’t be in there.”
“Are we still talking about chocolate…?”
Finding out that something like that had accidentally gotten mixed in
would have been bad enough, but from hearing his voice, Amane suspected
that Yuuta had discovered intentional adulterations on more than one

occasion.
He remembered reading somewhere that, long ago, people had believed
mixing a part of the body into someone’s food could work like a magic
charm to make them fall in love. The person who consumed the secret
ingredient was supposed to be helpless to resist the effects.
“I accept the gifts, even if they’ve got…stuff in them, but…that used to
happen a lot, and I’m still afraid it might happen again, so I tell everyone
ahead of time that I won’t eat any handmade chocolates. The ones who give
them to me anyway… Well, I appreciate the thought behind the present, and I
do still pay back every gift. Unfortunately, some of them try to disguise it as
store-bought chocolate, but… What can you do? And of course, if it happens
more than once, I never accept chocolate from that girl again, so…” Yuuta
trailed off, looking sad and lost. Amane couldn’t help but feel bad for him.
“…I guess even popular guys have it rough.”
“Meanwhile, everybody is so jealous of me, I feel like I can’t complain,
but… It’s not like I want to be popular. Honestly, it’s miserable. I’d give it all
up if I could.”
“Sounds serious.” Amane nodded.
“I mean, yeah, it’s disturbing. Girls give me sweets or food with weird
stuff hidden in it, smiling the whole time.”
It was only reasonable to be apprehensive.
Ordinarily, most boys would treasure a girl’s handmade food, but for
Yuuta it was a potential threat. Going through something so awful so many
times must have been terrible.
“Sometimes I think it would be easier if I went out with someone, so the
other girls would stop flirting with me…but I’m afraid whoever I picked
would end up getting bullied.”
“…Jealousy’s a scary thing.”
“Yeah…”
Yuuta’s shoulders slumped like he was at a complete loss. He seemed
exhausted.
Amane won a large bag of potato sticks from a nearby machine and
offered them to the sad boy in front of him.
“Eat these; you’ll feel better,” he said. “And you know, if you ever want
to talk or something, you can come to Itsuki or me.”
“It’s just hard sometimes… So I appreciate it.”

Seeing Yuuta so troubled, it occurred to Amane that popularity didn’t
always make people’s lives easier or better.
When Amane got home, Mahiru heard him entering and came to the door to
greet him.
She was wearing her apron and had her hair up in a bun. She always tied it
back when she was cooking, but this time she had added a braid as a cute
flourish that accentuated her practical style.
Mahiru smiled, a little relieved now that Amane had returned. Apparently,
she had already finished making dinner.
After leaving the arcade, Amane had gone to a café with Yuuta to listen to
him complain over coffee. He had let Mahiru know he would be late, but
evidently she had still worried.
“Welcome home, Amane… What’s in the bag?”
“I stopped by the arcade and got some prizes.”
The huge bag was crammed full of all the things he’d won, including the
stuffed rabbit. It was obvious just by looking that there was a lot inside.
“…That’s quite the haul.”
“And I only used about two days’ worth of lunch money.”
“Wow, what did you win?”
“Maybe we can save that for later? I’m starving.”
Amane wanted to find the right moment to present her with the rabbit. Her
surprise would be worth the wait.
Besides, his stomach was growling. He wasn’t lying when he said he
wanted to enjoy some of Mahiru’s delicious cooking.
“In that case, go change and wash your hands—and don’t forget to gargle.
While you do, I’ll set the table.”
“Roger, roger.”
He didn’t really need the reminders, but it still made him happy to hear
her concern for him. She was maybe even acting a little maternal, but he
didn’t say that out loud and instead headed to the bathroom as instructed.
“…So what did you bring back that needed such a large bag?”
The prizes must have been on Mahiru’s mind. After dinner, she glanced
over at the bag sitting beside the sofa and asked about it again.

“Hmm? Stuffed animals.”
Amane had no intention of hiding it, so he picked up the bag and set it on
his lap, then peeled off the tape keeping it closed.
“Stuffed animals?”
“You like them, right, Mahiru?”
“Y-yeah, I do, but—”
“I saw a few I thought you might like, so I got them for you. Here.”
The best prize among the day’s winnings had to be the stuffed bunny that
was about the same size as the bear he had given her before. It was pretty
large, and he had won it with only a single coin, so he decided it was all right
to feel a little proud.
He pulled out the bunny and set it on Mahiru’s knee, where she could get
a good view of its white fur and big round eyes.
He didn’t really know anything about the particular mascot. He had
simply picked it out because a bunny seemed like something Mahiru would
like.
She stared at the stuffed rabbit sitting on her knee.
“You…don’t like rabbits?”
“…It’s cute.”
“I’m glad.”
Mahiru wrapped both arms around the stuffed rabbit and squeezed it tight
against her cheek, just like she always did with her favorite cushion. For a
second, Amane thought about getting out his phone for a picture but
ultimately decided against it.
She was smiling softly, so he captured the scene with his mental camera
and pulled another stuffed animal from the densely packed bag.
“There’s more. I’ve got cats and dogs and—”
Thanks to the crane arms at that game center being relatively strong,
Amane had been able to get most of the prizes for very little money, so he
had picked up toy after toy, grabbing any and all he thought Mahiru would
like.
As he added a beige-and-white stuffed cat that looked sort of like
Mahiru’s style and a plush Shiba Inu dog, she looked at him with
bewilderment.
“Uh, um, this many…?”
“I… Uh, I hope they won’t be in the way…”

“No, not at all! I don’t have any decorations in my apartment, and they’re
very cute. I’m happy.”
“That’s great.”
As he had imagined, Mahiru looked adorable surrounded by a small herd
of stuffed animals.
She was still hugging the bunny, but she looked back and forth restlessly
between the cat and dog, wondering which to hug next. Amane couldn’t help
but smile, and Mahiru must have noticed him watching her, because her face
turned bright red, and she tried to hide behind the stuffed rabbit.
The contrast between the rabbit’s white fur and her blushing cheeks was
striking.
Mahiru’s eyes, peeking out from the gap between the bunny’s ears, were a
bit teary, which only made her more adorable. Finally, overcome by
embarrassment, she leaned over and buried her face in Amane’s shoulder.
“…Don’t grin at me like that.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were! You were smiling. Laughing at me for being childish.”
“That’s not why I was smiling. It’s because you’re cute.”
“…So you were smiling after all, weren’t you?”
“You got me,” he said teasingly, flashing her another big grin. This time,
Mahiru slapped his thigh, so he rubbed her head in an attempt to pacify her
for the time being.
Mahiru seemed to settle down, and when he grinned at her again, he did
his best to make sure she didn’t notice.
“…I feel like this is all a trick or something.”
“It’s only your imagination.”
“…Well, just for today, I’ll play along,” Mahiru muttered disapprovingly.
Amane decided not to point out that she was still smiling.
Looking at the cat that was in Mahiru’s lap and the bunny she was
holding, he thought she reminded him a little of both of those animals as he
continued stroking her hair.
Mahiru suddenly sat up. Her cheeks were still flushed, but Amane could
see a new tinge of protest in her eyes.
“…I’m always on the receiving end.”
Apparently, all the gifts were making her uncomfortable.
“I’m just doing what I want to do, so don’t worry about it.”

“But…I’m always getting things from you. You give me presents, and
you’re so thoughtful, and you spend so much time with me… Everything.”
“But those are all things I want to give you, so there’s nothing for you to
worry about.”
It’s not like I’m expecting to be paid back or anything. It’s just because I
want to make her happy. Maybe that makes it sound like her happiness is my
compensation or something, but the truth is it’s all for my own satisfaction. It
feels good to make her happy, so I do. That’s all there is to it.
But apparently Mahiru felt guilty. That seemed absurd to Amane,
considering all the trouble she went to for his sake, plus all the care and
attention she always gave him. He honestly didn’t think he was anywhere
close to balancing the scales.
But it seemed Mahiru felt the opposite.
“I want to give something back,” she insisted.
“You’re so stubborn…,” he teased. “But…I guess if you feel that
strongly, there is maybe one thing I’d like.”
“If it’s something I can give, name it.”
She really seemed like she was ready to do whatever he asked. Of course,
he wasn’t going to put her on the spot with anything crazy. But he had to
make a request of some kind, or Mahiru would feel even worse.
“I want a pudding.”
And so Amane gladly asked for something he knew Mahiru could handle.
“…A pudding?”
“One with plenty of eggs. I want to eat your homemade version.”
“…You don’t mean one from the store, right? That’s not nearly enough to
pay you back.”
“Of course not. I’ll only be satisfied if you make it yourself.”
Amane didn’t care for most sweets, but pudding was a different matter.
He liked cream puffs that were made with only pudding or custard-cream
filling and knew that if Mahiru made the pudding by hand, it was sure to be
delicious. A sweet treat skillfully handcrafted by a girl he liked… He
couldn’t think of anything better.
He made his request very seriously, and Mahiru stared up at him silently
for a moment, then nodded sharply.
“…All right, I’ll make some this weekend. A stiff pudding with lots of
egg, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”
“I’ll do my best to make something tasty!”
“Okay, okay, you don’t have to get so worked up…”
“If I’m doing it, I’m going to do it right.”
“Is that how it is?”
Mahiru seemed to be taking this very seriously for some reason. Amane
thought that maybe she didn’t need to try so hard, but since he was going to
get a delicious pudding out of it, he couldn’t complain.
He stroked her head once more to show his support, and Mahiru looked
slightly bashful and buried the lower part of her face in the back of the
bunny’s head.
Soft puddings with an abundance of heavy cream were delicious, of course,

but for Amane, the best pudding was a stiff one with plenty of egg, the kind
that held its shape even in the spoon.
The pudding that Mahiru made clearly highlighted the taste of the egg
yolks while carefully balancing the richness of the heavy cream. It had a
clean, distinct flavor, and the touch of the caramel’s burnt-sugar bitterness
kept the whole thing from being too sweet.
Amane found himself bringing spoonful after spoonful to his mouth as if
in a trance. Before he knew it, Mahiru’s pudding had completely disappeared
from his dish.
“Man, that was insanely good.”
“I’m really flattered to hear that.”
She had brought out the pudding after dinner, and Amane had made short
work of it. One serving hadn’t been enough, so he’d asked for seconds.
For a high school boy, Amane didn’t have that big of an appetite, but
when it came to Mahiru’s homemade desserts, he was not surprised to find
that he always had room.
Feeling even more satisfied than expected for how much he ate, Amane
felt utterly content. He rubbed his bulging belly.
“You really can make anything, huh?”
“Well, I had a very…demanding education,” Mahiru replied. She was not
boasting in the slightest, but it was true that her culinary repertoire was
impressive. Sometimes she even made dishes Amane had never seen before.

They were always good, and he couldn’t get enough of her cooking. Having
someone like Mahiru around to make him delicious food was one of Amane’s
greatest joys.
“Well, I don’t know what else to say, except thank you. I’m very happy.”
“…Happy?”
“Sure. I mean, who could be unsatisfied with life when they get to eat
tasty stuff like this day after day? I always look forward to it.”
Mahiru’s cooking was pretty much what he looked forward to the most
every day. As long as he got to enjoy a meal with her at the end of the day, he
could forget all his woes and troubles.
Just the very fact that she was cooking for him all the time was cause for
joy, and he was flooded with feelings of happiness every time he took a bite,
but Mahiru didn’t really seem to understand the value of her own dishes.
Once before, Amane had said that Mahiru’s cooking tasted like happiness,
but Mahiru didn’t seem to understand. If Amane didn’t heap high praise on
her, she might never recognize its value.
Besides, it was good manners to compliment the cook when their dishes
were phenomenal, and he intended to follow through on that.
“…Y-you really think so?”
Mahiru’s cheeks flushed slightly at his praise, and she shrunk into herself
a little.
“…It makes me happy when you say things like that, Amane.”
“Well, if you don’t mind that they’re coming from me, I’ll give you as
many compliments as you like. Maybe you want me to be more specific,
instead of just saying that everything is good? I can do that, no problem.”
Rifts between couples often start with forgetting to thank each other, after
all.
Not that he and Mahiru were a couple or anything. But she made dinner
for him on an almost daily basis, and he believed it was important to express
his gratitude often. And besides, getting good feedback probably made her
feel more motivated, so if she wanted, he was prepared to present detailed
notes.
But Mahiru shook her head, directly rejecting that idea.
“P-please don’t… I’d die if you did.”
“That’s a little extreme, isn’t it?”
“I’m being serious. What you do now is already perfect.”

“Really? But you’re going to keep making food for me, so I want to show
you my appreciation properly. Thank you for everything.”
Honestly, these days, Amane’s diet entirely depended on Mahiru’s
cooking, so he felt like he owed her a lot and wanted to do what he could for
her. She was so very important to him. When Mahiru wasn’t around, Amane
quickly fell back into his old hopeless habits, so he hoped she would stay by
his side for a long time.
He smiled gratefully, and Mahiru trembled like a phone on vibrate, then
quickly stood up.
“…Stupid Amane…” she said in a cute voice. Then she carried the dishes
over to the sink. Amane followed, his own dishes in hand.
She had moved suddenly, so Amane wanted to get her attention to tell her
he’d handle the cleanup and that she didn’t have to do anything else. The
moment he lightly caught hold of Mahiru’s arm, she whirled around to face
him.
She looked at him with a face much redder than it had been before. She
seemed like she really couldn’t stand being there a second longer.
“…I…I’ll do the cleanup. You can go hang out on the sofa. Okay?”

He ruffled her hair once and chased her from the kitchen. Groaning softly,
Mahiru rushed for the couch and sank into the cushions. Amane was caught
off guard by her sudden lack of composure.
As he washed the dishes, Amane couldn’t get her bashful expression out
of his mind. He switched the tap to cold water, hoping to cool his head off a
little.

Their classmates often called Mahiru an angel. Based on how gentle and
modest she was, her kind personality, the fact that she was accomplished in
both academics and sports, plus her unparalleled beauty, angel did seem like
the appropriate nickname for her. It was no surprise then that she was very
popular.
During her first year of high school, many boys in many classes had
confessed their love for her, and she said that turning them all down was not
a point of pride for her, but an annoyance. She did not appreciate strangers
approaching her for dates.
So as popular as Mahiru was, after about half a year of stubbornly
refusing every suitor, she had finally dissuaded the student body. By the time
she met Amane, though many boys were undoubtedly still interested in her,
the spate of romantic confessions had more or less abated.
But that also meant they had not ceased entirely, as Amane came to
realize.
“Please go out with me.”

It happened after school, when Mahiru had stopped by the library to return
a book before heading home.
The library room wasn’t in building one, where their classroom was, but
in building two, meaning she had to walk through a connecting corridor to
get there.

Building two was basically full of classrooms, and it was deserted after
school let out, save for the occasional student heading for a club meeting.
Accordingly, there was very little pedestrian traffic, and it was quiet, so the
boy’s request was perfectly audible.
When Amane heard the voice coming from below him as he walked down
the connecting corridor on the second floor, he tried to step lightly. He wasn’t
one to stick his nose in strangers’ love affairs. Those were private matters,
and he didn’t have much interest in other peoples’ romances anyway. So not
wanting to eavesdrop, Amane tried to briskly move along without making
any noise.
“I’m so sorry, but I have to turn you down.”
However, after hearing a very familiar voice, his body immediately went
rigid despite his best intentions. It was a gentle, soft voice that was usually
very pleasant. But it had an unmistakable edge to it now.
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, Amane crept to a nearby window and
peeked over the lip. There on the first floor were Mahiru and a male student
who might have been a classmate. Luckily, neither of them seemed to have
noticed him.
The boy had his back to Amane, so his expression wasn’t visible, but
Mahiru was looking at her suitor calmly.
The graceful face of the class’s angel was contorted into a somewhat
apologetic expression, showing she had no intention of accepting his offer.
“Why—?”
“I don’t know you. I’m very sorry, but I cannot return your feelings.”
“We can get to know each other once we’re going out—”
“I think that dating is something people should do after they’ve already
built a relationship of mutual trust and affection. I’m not interested in going
out with someone on a whim—a shallow relationship like that would only do
a disservice to everyone involved.”
Mahiru had never appreciated shows of affection from boys, especially
boys she didn’t really know. And considering her home environment, the
thought of dating a stranger probably made her very uncomfortable. So she
was obviously not going to easily agree to go out with anybody who bothered
to ask her.
Mahiru’s voice was gentle, but her refusal was firm. There was nothing
more to discuss, so she nodded once and turned to leave, but…the would-be

suitor grabbed her hand.
Mahiru’s lovely voice came out in a small cry of distress. She turned
around, frowning nervously. “Excuse me. This is not okay.” It seemed like
she found his grip on her hand painful.
“Sorry, but I can’t just give up.”
“I am not going to go out with you. Now please, let me go.”
Though she spoke more forcefully this time, and with an undeniably
disapproving expression, Mahiru nevertheless maintained her angelic
composure to the very end.
Still, the boy pressed her once more as he continued tugging on her hand.
Now Mahiru looked frightened, afraid of what the boy might do next.
Amane decided he couldn’t let this go on any longer. He frowned and
leaned out the half-open window. “I don’t think she appreciates you being so
forward,” he grumbled, loudly enough for the two of them to hear.
The boy spun around frantically, and Mahiru took advantage of the
distraction to slip out of his grasp and quickly put some distance between the
two of them. She must have recognized Amane’s voice, because she looked
relieved at the sudden intrusion. Though she had mostly maintained an
impassive expression, Amane could tell that Mahiru was disgusted and
frightened by the boy’s selfish actions.
This must really bother her…
Amane glared at her boorish suitor with a mixture of anger and disgust.
Understandably, the other boy’s expression stiffened, which Amane took
as a sign of a guilty conscience.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but…I just happened to be passing
through and saw you two were having some kind of trouble; that’s all. Plus, it
sounded like Shiina was in pain.” Amane gestured to Mahiru, who was
rubbing her hand where the boy had grabbed her.
“A-are you really hurt?” the boy asked, looking even more unwell.
“…You were awfully rough when you grabbed me. And anyway, it’s
wrong to touch a girl without her permission.” Mahiru had regained her
composure. Rather than just angry, her voice was icy cold.
“So she says.” Amane nodded. “You should watch it.”
The male student bit his lip hard. “Sorry” was all he said before hurrying
away.
Relieved that the other boy had finally run off, Amane turned toward

Mahiru. She smiled at him faintly, still defensively clutching her hand to her
chest. Seeing that made his heart ache, and he almost wanted to reach out to
her. But they were still in school, so Amane couldn’t carelessly make contact.
Mahiru must have understood that. She bowed sharply and turned to walk
away. Somehow, she looked even more delicate than usual, but all Amane
could do was anxiously watch her go.
“Thanks for earlier.”

That was the first thing Mahiru said to Amane once they’d gotten home.
She was wearing a troubled smile.
Mahiru must have been thinking about the incident, too. She sat down on
the sofa next to Amane, looking a little tired, and leaned back on the
cushions. Normally, Mahiru sat up very straight and proper. She must have
been feeling a bit worn out.
“Honestly, I was wondering whether I might have overstepped,” Amane
confessed.
“No, you saved me. He wouldn’t let go, even when I asked him to.
Everyone knows I’ve never accepted a love confession, and most guys seem
to understand when I turn them down, so they give up very quickly—but he
was different.”
Amane didn’t know how many dozens of boys had told her they loved
her, but it sounded like a considerable number. Nonetheless, Mahiru had
never accepted a proposal. It occurred to Amane that if she ever did start
dating someone, their time together would definitely come to an end.
“…You really are popular, huh?”
“Well, I suppose I am. Though it’s not something that makes me happy.”
Typical of Mahiru to openly acknowledge it as fact and then clearly express
her true feelings on the matter. “I appreciate that they feel affection toward
me, but the sheer number of times this has happened is alarming…”
Mahiru muttered something else in a somewhat apologetic tone about not
knowing how to manage all those expectations, and Amane realized she must
have to deal with this kind of thing a lot.
Amane didn’t interact much with Mahiru in school. Whenever he thought
about her, he inevitably looked at her, so he was deliberately trying to limit
those incidents whenever possible. That was partly why he had no idea how

often she had to field these romantic appeals.
“And I’m sure you always graciously and candidly decline, eh?”
“Well, if someone comes to me to earnestly express their feelings, of
course I’m going to hear them out before I turn them away. It would be rude
just to ignore them, after all. Though I don’t think all of them are equally
serious about their feelings, you know?”
“Oh yeah?”
“Absolutely. There are some boys who confess their feelings knowing that
I’ll turn them down, like it’s all some kind of twisted game. Others just like
the way I look and want me for a trophy. I have no intention of entertaining
something so superficial, of course.”
“I’m surprised there are guys who can muster up the will to confess with
such flimsy reasons.”
He had serious doubts about the first group of guys, and when it came to
the second group, well, Amane had always believed that a relationship had to
be a serious thing. If someone was going to confess their love, they ought to
really mean it, and he wasn’t even sure he considered such superficial
feelings “love” at all.
“Well, I politely send those guys away, just like all the others. I can’t
accept any of their proposals on a fundamental level. It’s just not possible.”
Mahiru’s voice had turned cold again.
Amane recalled her reaction the first time she had come into his apartment
—and he had accidentally touched on a sensitive subject—and felt he
couldn’t say anything further.
Mahiru was obviously not interested in pursuing frivolous relationships.
Amane was the same way, and he reflected once more on the fact that while
his words back then had been due to a misunderstanding, it was still very
rude.
Looking over at Mahiru, he could see that her eyes weren’t as cold as they
had been before, and even though he knew that her aggravated, scornful look
wasn’t meant for him, he still shrank back a little.
“Anyway, it might be a naive question, but…do people think I’m such a
simple person that I would agree to go out with someone I barely know?”
“No, I don’t think that’s quite it…”
“Well then, why all the hopeless attempts? It’s so strange that they think I
might say yes even though I don’t know them. It’s just scary being

approached by strangers all the time,” Mahiru muttered, clearly troubled by
getting so many confessions.
“…Do you think they lose control of themselves because they want you to
notice them or something?”
“So you’re saying it’s okay for them to grab me or get rough because they
can’t control themselves?” Her mood seemed to be getting even worse.
Amane shook his head sharply to dispel any misunderstanding that
Mahiru might be having about what he said. “No, of course not. There’s
nothing wrong with having feelings for someone, but it’s not right to push
them on anyone else or selfishly try to force their hand. I’m definitely not
trying to defend what that guy did. If anything, I’m angry about it.”
Mahiru was very beautiful, and Amane couldn’t blame someone for
wanting to win her affection. After all, he had feelings for her himself. But he
would never try to force his feelings on Mahiru. The moment he used them to
justify making her uncomfortable would be the moment he’d gone too far.
This time, at least, Amane had happened to be there to step in. He
shuddered to think about someone grabbing her like that when he wasn’t
around. While he knew that Mahiru would not hesitate to defend herself,
physically if necessary, it was still an unpleasant thought.
“…Is that so?” Mahiru asked.
“One hundred percent.” Amane replied. “It was awful of him to try to
force himself on you like that… Weren’t you scared?”
“I was a little scared, but if he had tried to hurt me at all, I was going to
kick him right in the crotch with all my strength.”
Just as he suspected, Mahiru would not have hesitated to retaliate with
force. If she was being threatened, anyone would understand it if she
defended herself.
“I think that would have taken care of it,” Amane said. “Gotta admit, just
thinking about it makes me a little nervous.”
“Not that I would do anything like that to you, Amane.”
“Well, I hope I never give you any reason to.”
His parents would disown him if he ever tried something like that. And it
was against his own principles to begin with. Forcing oneself on a girl would
be a disgrace to all men.
Amane thought he had made his position on the matter clear, but Mahiru
was intently watching him with a hint of exasperation.

“…Of course you wouldn’t. Not Amane, the perfect gentleman.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re angry at me?”
“Oh, no, I’m just complimenting you.”
“The look in your eyes doesn’t seem very approving.”
“Why, you must be imagining things.”
Both her tone of voice and the look in her eyes were far from amicable.
Rather, she seemed dissatisfied. What she was saying and the way she was
saying it didn’t match, and Amane couldn’t figure out what she really meant.
His eyes darted nervously around the room as he squirmed under her gaze.
Mahiru smiled slightly, as if to say that his discomfort was unavoidable.
“Well, when it comes to respecting a girl’s space, you’re perfect, Amane,
but you do have one weakness, you know?”
“And what might that be…?”
“A weakness to me, am I right?”
Startled by her sudden impish smile, Amane averted his eyes, but Mahiru
didn’t seem to notice his discomfort and leaned against him a little bit.
She didn’t seem to notice his heart threatening to leap out of his chest,
either.
“It might sound a bit presumptuous, but popularity really is its own
problem, you know?” Mahiru muttered in a hoarse voice. She sounded truly
troubled. “I’m aware that, physically at least, I’m more attractive than most
people. So things like this happen a lot, and I’m tired of it.”
“…Sounds tough.”
“It is. Oh, I’m sure there are some girls who might say it would be a
wonderful problem to have, but honestly, I wish I didn’t have to deal with
strangers constantly confessing their love to me and then getting moody when
I turn them down, or even worse, latching on to me or flying into a rage.
Even at the best of times, it gets exhausting having to reject so many
advances. And I feel guilty when I turn them down, too, you know.”
Mahiru had no mercy for anyone she decided was her enemy. At the same
time, she was fundamentally a virtuous and sensible girl and generally treated
everyone she met kindly.
“I don’t think it’s any joking matter to be in danger just by being myself,”
Mahiru muttered. “It’s not like I worked so hard to improve myself simply to
be somebody’s accessory.”
Mahiru sighed audibly. She sounded truly fed up and exhausted.

Popularity certainly came with its own set of hardships.
Amane reached out and gently stroked her hair. Mahiru let him do it,
passively accepting the reassuring gesture.
This completely different response to physical contact lay in the
relationship of mutual trust between Mahiru and him. As he patted her on the
head, taking care not to entangle his fingers in her fine hair, Mahiru closed
her eyes, seemingly enjoying the moment. She almost resembled a cat who
was letting a trusted companion fawn over her.
“The persona I use at school is one that I chose, but it makes things
difficult when people want to get to know me. I won’t let anyone touch me
unless I want them to.”
As a slightly—no, quite—displeased-looking Mahiru uttered those words,
Amane’s hand hesitated. Right now she was letting him touch her, but he
couldn’t help but wonder if he was somehow taking advantage of her being
upset.
“Why did you stop?”
“Well, I, uh…,” Amane stammered. “I suddenly feel a little self-conscious
about all those times I touched you before…”
“If I didn’t like it, I would have stopped you the first time, so you can
relax.”
“G-gotcha.”
“You can touch me even more…if you want.”
She peered up at Amane and smiled gently, and in her eyes he could see
trust and a glimmer of anticipation.
Amane gulped. “Th-that’s, um—” He didn’t know how to reply.
“I’m just joking.” Mahiru’s expression returned to normal, and she
giggled. Her gaze dropped. “But please…keep holding my hand. What
happened today was a little unnerving.”
Amane wasn’t sure how to respond to her quiet words or to the heart-
wrenching distress he could sense welling up inside her, so he just bit his lip
and took her hand.
Mahiru’s fingers were elegant and dainty. As he traced his fingers over
hers, he could feel that they were soft but strong, with a slight callus where
her pen usually rested. They were not weak in the slightest.
But he also didn’t think they were strong enough to fight off a high school
boy. Amane wasn’t sure whether she hadn’t been trying to shake him off or

wasn’t able to. Either way, she had obviously been rattled by what happened.
Amane gently rubbed and massaged her hand, trying to help relax the fear
that was coiled up inside her.
Mahiru smiled, looking a bit better. “It’s strange, you know. When you
touch me, all I feel is comfort.”
“Part of me wishes you’d retained a bit of that caution you had when we
first…”
He looked into Mahiru’s eyes, asking silently if it was really all right to let
him touch her like this, and she answered with a beautiful smile.
“Oh, you’re not satisfied with our current relationship?”
“It’s n-not that I’m not satisfied, but… How do I put this…?”
“If I wasn’t all right with it, I wouldn’t be hanging around inside your
apartment in the first place, and I wouldn’t be letting you touch me. I also
never would have allowed you to rest in my lap.”
“You probably shouldn’t have let me do that…”
“Even though you thoroughly enjoyed yourself?”
It was hard for Amane to argue that particular point.
He had happily laid his head down on Mahiru’s thighs and fallen into a
deep sleep, so his insistence that they not do it again rang a bit hollow. Even
if Mahiru had been the one to propose it, he’d eagerly gone along with the
idea in the end.
And so when Amane replied by averting his eyes somewhat and saying
“…That was that, and this is this,” he received an amused laugh.
“Ha-ha! Very convenient. I’ll have to remember to use that one later. But
please…relax, all right? I’ll let you lay your head in my lap anytime you’re
tired.”
“Ah, I think I’ll refrain…”
Amane knew if he let himself get accustomed to such a wonderful
experience, he’d never be able to go back to being on his own. He’d become
utterly hopeless, even more than he already was, but with somehow even less
ability to resist her.
When Amane gently declined her offer in the interest of preserving what
little dignity he had left, Mahiru smiled pleasantly. “Oh, that’s too bad.” She
didn’t seem particularly disappointed. Amane figured she must have been
making fun of him.
“…Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not. That’s how I really feel.”
In that case, she’s just being mean.
Amane tried squeezing her hand harder to let her know how he felt, but
Mahiru just laughed like he was tickling her, and he had to quickly turn away
to hide his obvious embarrassment.

“Itsuki! Fujimiya! Let’s eat together!”
It was lunchtime at school, and Amane was on his way to get lunch with
Itsuki as usual, when a voice he had recently gotten used to hearing called out
to him.
As expected, it was Yuuta Kadowaki, one hand waving in the air, exuding
his bright and amiable smile as always. Normally, Yuuta ate lunch with other
friends, but apparently today was different, as he approached them, wallet in
hand.
Yuuta had been speaking to them more frequently since they started their
second year, but they still weren’t especially close or anything.
But thanks to Amane listening to Yuuta’s troubles the other day, an
affinity had grown between them, and more importantly, Amane had realized
that Yuuta was actually a pretty nice guy. In fact, he kind of reminded Amane
of Itsuki.
“It’s fine with me…,” Amane said.
“Well, you don’t mind, do you, Itsuki?”
“Why do you assume I won’t mind? I mean, I won’t, but…”
“Then it’s all good, right?”
“Yeah, it’s cool. Like, this guy here might have been sorta suspicious of
you for no good reason, but he warmed up to you pretty quick. And looks like
you’ve gotten pretty attached to Amane, too, Yuuta.”
“Attached…?” Amane muttered. “He’s not a dog.”
“But Yuuta is kinda like a dog. He’s the type where, once you win his
trust, he’ll always stay close by, wagging his tail off. He’s like… What’s the

breed…? Like a golden retriever.”
“You guys shouldn’t call people dogs right to their faces,” Yuuta scolded.
But sure enough, once Amane pictured him as a golden retriever, he
couldn’t help but laugh.
Yuuta noticed Amane’s shoulders shaking with mirth and made a sour
face, but Amane could tell that the teasing didn’t really bother him.
“Don’t laugh, Fujimiya.”
“Ha-ha, sorry.”
“Amane was thinking the same thing, I knew it.”
“I mean, it was a pretty accurate description…”
“Oh come on, not you too, Fujimiya. Look here, I only wanted to be your
friend because I thought you were a decent guy, you know?”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing Amane is finally getting a little
recognition,” Itsuki said. “Anyway, c’mon, have a seat.”
“Geez, who do you think you are?” Amane retorted, slapping Itsuki
playfully.
Kadowaki obediently sauntered over, and when he made eye contact with
Amane, he broke into a beaming smile. If he had pointed that smile at any
girl, she would have been out cold.
Amane smiled wryly back. “…Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“Hmm?”
“Do you really want to be my friend?” Amane inquired. “I mean, I can’t
really imagine what you’d get out of it, you know?” He hadn’t intended to
say such a thing, but it slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it.
Yuuta was almost certainly trying to be Amane’s friend because he liked
him, but Amane’s memories of what had happened in the past might have
been clouding his perception.
Yuuta looked puzzled by Amane’s question. “You don’t hang out with
your friends because of what you could gain or lose, do you?”
“I guess not, but—”
“Well then, there’s your answer. I’m talking to you because I want to get
to know you.”
Yuuta’s smile was like a bright sunny day. Amane squinted at how
dazzling it was.
“…Okay,” he eventually agreed.
“Yeah, great, I’m glad you’re getting along,” Itsuki interjected, supplying

his thoughts on the matter with a cheeky grin. Then his gaze quickly shifted
to another part of the classroom.
He was looking at Chitose, who was clinging to Mahiru with a smile,
exclaiming, “You’re so sweet and cute, Mahirun, geez!”
Chitose had always been a touchy-feely person, and she didn’t seem to
care that they were in class. Everyone was staring, either because they
enjoyed seeing two beautiful girls bonding over some skinship or maybe
because they were jealous.
To Amane, it looked like the girls were acting as they always did, but
Itsuki grinned as he watched the two of them joke around.
“Did something happen?”
“Nah, nothing.”
Itsuki smiled in amusement and started walking off in the direction of the
cafeteria. Amane and Yuuta followed after him.
After dinner, Amane asked Mahiru “…You’re sulking, aren’t you?” She had
seemed upset about something lately.
Mahiru blinked dramatically. “…Oh, did it show on my face?” She poked
and prodded at her own cheeks, as if she was just discovering her sour
expression.
“Yeah, well, you just look like you’re in a bad mood. I’ve been racking
my brain for what I might have done wrong.”
Usually when Mahiru was sulking, it was because Amane had done
something. But today he had barely interacted with her, so he really had no
clue what the cause might be.
“If I did something, I’ll apologize, but—”
“N-no, this isn’t your fault, Amane. I’m just being narrow-minded.”
“If you’re narrow-minded, that would mean most people’s minds could be
measured in millimeters. Anyway, I’m still not convinced I didn’t do
something.”
There was no way that Mahiru, the girl who basically never got angry,
who was always ready to hear someone out or put herself in another person’s
shoes, could be narrow-minded. Or if she was, then someone like Amane had
to be the narrowest.
He wasn’t sure why Mahiru was sulking, but he figured there had to be

some reason for it. And Mahiru wasn’t the type of person to let a stranger
bother her, so nine times out of ten, if she was sulking, it meant that Amane,
the only boy she let her inside her guard, was at the root of it all.
“…It really isn’t your fault, Amane, but… Well, it does have something to
do with you…”
“I don’t really understand, but if I’m the reason…”
“You shouldn’t apologize when you don’t understand why. Actually, I’m
probably the one who should apologize to you.”
“Now I’m even more confused.”
“It’s because I’m so narrow-minded.”
“Okay, okay, assuming for the sake of argument that you are narrow-
minded, what exactly is bothering you?”
He didn’t think that was even slightly accurate, but for the sake of moving
the discussion forward, he agreed to pretend like it was true.
Mahiru refused to look directly at him.
“…I think it’s unfair.”
“Unfair?”
“Kadowaki.”
“What about him?”
“It’s not fair that he can go talk to you whenever, just because you’re both
boys. Meanwhile, I still have to hold back.”
“Hold back?”
“To avoid causing any trouble…to keep from arousing too many
suspicions…to preserve your precious quiet life, we have to act like strangers
at school. But…it’s making me lonely, and I’m the only one left out.”
She must have been feeling isolated.
At school, Mahiru was still acting like an angel, just as she always had.
She gave Amane the same smile as everyone else and kept him at the same
distance she used with all the other boys. The thoroughness of her act was
rather impressive.
But apparently Mahiru wanted to talk to Amane more than usual. She had
been refraining from doing so because it would have all sorts of effects on
their school lives, but now that Yuuta, another popular student who also had
problems with the opposite sex, had made friends with Amane, she was
finding her restrictions too limiting.
He hated hearing she was lonely, but he didn’t think there was anything

they could really do about that. He frowned, and so did Mahiru. She looked
utterly dejected.
“Itsuki and Chitose and Kadowaki—they all get to have fun with you,
Amane, but I alone get left out.”
“Argh…”
He couldn’t stand hearing her say that with such a sad look on her face.
Amane had always talked to Chitose normally, so he was able to talk to
her and Itsuki, the two people who knew about his friendship with Mahiru, at
school like he always had. But he couldn’t talk to Mahiru, so when Chitose
came over to talk to Itsuki, that naturally meant Mahiru was left alone.
She seemed to have some other friends in their class, but she wasn’t as
open with them as she was with Chitose, so no matter what, she seemed a
little lonely. Of course, she concealed those roiling emotions behind her
angelic smile, but Amane knew her well enough that her loneliness stood out
to him clear as day.
He understood that, and he wished he could do something about it, but of
course he couldn’t just nod and say he’d start talking to her whenever she
wanted.
“…But, well, it would be strange if the class angel suddenly became good
friends with a boring background character like me, wouldn’t it?”
“Why do you always put yourself down like that? It really bothers me.”
Mahiru frowned again and angrily jabbed Amane’s nose with the tip of her
index finger. “I overheard the three of you talking today, and you should
really stop being so self-deprecating. I wouldn’t even bother making friends
with you if everything was really so calculated and cold. Think about what an
absolute slob you were when I first met you. Imagine how you looked from
my perspective. What did I have to gain by getting to know you?”
“You’re frighteningly persuasive.”
Their friendship had started because Mahiru had felt concerned for
Amane, particularly because of his diet. A dash of guilt may have played a
part as well. There was little other reason for the two of them to get to know
each other. Looking at it objectively, their friendship made no sense.
But they had become friends anyway, and it had nothing to do with either
of them weighing risks against rewards—it was because of the way they felt
about each other, feelings that ranged from happiness to guilt to compassion.
Those feelings had been the spark that led them to get to know each other

better.
“Of course, now I know you’re a kind person with a good personality, so
it would be an easy exercise if someone asked me to outline the merits of
being friends with you, but I don’t care about any of that. I like you for you,
and I’m sure Kadowaki has his own reasons, as he said. So it’s not good for
you to paint yourself in such a negative light. That insistence of yours is an
insult to all the people who care about you.”
“…Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize with such a glum face. I just want you to
have more self-confidence.”
He still felt a little sting from being poked at, but that pain wasn’t a bad
thing.
“Anyway, we’ve got to work on your low self-esteem. You need to be
more confident.”
“Confident, huh? Well, see…”
“Even better, I’ll start spreading the news that you’re a great guy.”
“If you do that to me, I’ll die of shame, and everyone will wonder what
you’re talking about.”
It would be sure to raise a lot of suspicions if Mahiru suddenly started
praising some random guy that, as far as their peers were concerned, she
didn’t really know very well.
“I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t seem unnatural, okay?”
“I guess that means you’ve decided you’re going to talk to me at school?”
“…Look, I don’t like being the only one left out. If you don’t mind, I
want to spend time with you just like everybody else.”
Whether or not she was aware that Amane found it almost impossible to
resist the disheartened face she was making, Mahiru was casting her eyes low
and mumbling sadly in a way that made him feel like he would go mad.
“…It’s not that I hate the idea, but if we suddenly start acting all buddy-
buddy, people are going to notice something’s up.”
“So if I do it gradually, that’s all right?”
There was no way he could reject her any longer once he saw her eyes
light up and her depressed expression change, so Amane nodded in assent.
“Just try not to hype me up too much, okay?”
“Fine… If that’s what you want, I’ll never compliment you ever again.”
It hurt to hear her say that, but Amane held his tongue and just gazed off

into the distance. His school life was about to become a bit stormier.

After Mahiru declared her intent to have more frequent contact with Amane,
she made good on her promise and began to approach him more often. At
first, this amounted to nothing more than greetings and small talk, so as not to
draw undue attention or give anyone reasons to think he might be more than a
friend of a friend. Mahiru was obviously taking great care to avoid any
sudden disruptions to his daily life.
When they discussed their studies, like classmates often did, they didn’t
get stares of jealousy—instead, the other students looked at them with
admiration. At times like these, Amane was grateful that studying came
easily to him. Honestly, it was difficult to keep up with Mahiru, since she
usually did the whole year’s worth of schoolwork in advance, but Mahiru was
kind enough to tailor the discussion to Amane’s level of understanding, so
they were able to play the part of ordinary classmates without any trouble. It
also helped that Chitose and Itsuki, and sometimes even Yuuta, were usually
with them.
In the way that all people ease into gradual change, Amane got used to
having light conversations with Mahiru about daily life or their mutual
friends or their classes, and any looks of jealousy that might have been
directed at him from other boys faded into the background. Only the boys in
love with Mahiru continued giving him sharp glares.
“Why Fujimiya…?”
Amane was in his seat in the classroom, staring at his textbooks, when he
happened to overhear some boys sitting near him whispering in resentful
tones.

Until just a moment ago, Amane had been discussing the previous class’s
homework with Mahiru, and apparently the boys had spotted them.
As for why Mahiru had chosen to have that discussion with Amane, it was
because there simply weren’t that many people who could keep up with her
on that topic. Chitose, her closest friend, never prepared for class, so there
was no way she really understood everything they were supposed to be
learning right now. Chitose’s boyfriend, Itsuki, was the same.
And so when it came to academic topics, it was easier to talk to Amane.
He’d always had an easy time with schoolwork, and now that he had
Mahiru’s guidance, he’d become an even better student than before. This was
the power of Mahiru the angel.
“What do you mean, why me?” Amane answered loudly. “I happen to be
able to follow along with what she’s talking about. It’s not like we were
having some hot-and-heavy conversation over here.”
When it came to interactions with Mahiru at school, there was some
occasional small talk, but it was mostly about their studies.
Mahiru seemed to be taking her time approaching him, so no one would
suspect anything, and was careful not to talk about anything normal
classmates wouldn’t share. Rather, they had been having conversations
befitting exemplary students, serious conversations that left no room for
doubt.
“I guess that’s probably true, but…”
“If you’ve got a problem with it, you guys should get to studying and
come join the discussion,” Amane continued. “Having you guys look at me
all jealous is a real pain. Studying is what we’re here to do.”
“Huh, no way… I don’t get that stuff… I already have no idea what you
two were even talking about…”
“Just read the textbook,” Amane admonished. “All we’re doing is looking
ahead of the material we’re learning now. If that’s impossible for you, then I
don’t know what to say other than give up now.”
“That’s harsh…”
“Don’t blame me for the sorry state of your studies. And anyway, I don’t
know what you guys are thinking, but I’m not that close with Shiina.”
Amane answered them dispassionately, and the other boys ground their
teeth in frustration. He wasn’t particularly good friends with any of them—in
fact, he saw them all as enemies who might discover his relationship with

Mahiru—so he felt no obligation to be overly accommodating.
Mahiru was only starting with light, casual conversation as a way to
steadily work up to being his friend openly at school. That meant they talked
about schoolwork a lot, but even if any of these other boys were on top of
their studies, he doubted whether she would befriend any of them.
Amane did his best to look utterly disinterested, but the two boys who
were speaking to him stared at him suspiciously.
“You…you don’t seem bothered by the fact that you and Shiina only talk
about school stuff…”
“Don’t you have any interest in the angel, Fujimiya?”
“Not in the angel, no.”
Amane hadn’t fallen for the “angel.” That wasn’t a lie.
The one he loved wasn’t the angel—it was the real Mahiru, the side of her
she only let him see. He loved the Mahiru who could be infuriatingly
stubborn and sarcastic but was also tenderhearted and shy, the one who
tended to indulge him, who had a penchant for feeling lonely, and who
sometimes looked so fragile he worried she might break into a million pieces.
According to Mahiru, the angel persona was like a combat uniform she
put on to go outside, a set of armor she wore to protect her vulnerable
interior. And it wasn’t as if he loved the armor. Of course, after all was said
and done, that didn’t change the fact that he liked Mahiru, but it was for more
than just her public facade.
The two boys now seemed suspicious of how readily Amane had shut that
line of questioning down. He dismissed without hesitation the idea that he
was interested in the angel, and they looked at him in disbelief.
“…You’re telling me you don’t think she’s cute, Fujimiya?”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not interested in boys, either. Look, I’ve
got eyes. It’s not that I don’t think she’s cute—I mean, she’s obviously very
beautiful, and she has a good personality. But that doesn’t mean I have to fall
in love with her or anything.”
“Then what do you like, Fujimiya?!”
The boys made a dissatisfied racket, causing their classmates to glance
over, which was slightly awkward.
Leaving aside the fact that he was actually enamored with Mahiru, Amane
didn’t understand the reasoning that just because there was a cute, kind,
perfect girl around that he must, as a member of the opposite sex, be in love

with her. If that was true, wouldn’t every boy in school be lovestruck?
Just looking around their classroom, it was clear that not every single boy
was head over heels for Mahiru. There were people who appreciated her as
one would a piece of art, and there were plenty of boys who were in love with
other girls. Of course, that didn’t change the fact that she was extremely easy
to idolize.
“Lemme ask you: What do you guys like about the angel?” Amane
muttered with some exasperation, and the two boys’ expressions became
lively, as if they were finally interested.
“She’s super cute, and nice to everyone, and so neat and ladylike, and she
can do anything! Wouldn’t it just be the greatest to have her as your
girlfriend?”
“Huh…right…,” Amane mumbled. He knew what they were trying to say,
but he gave them a skeptical glance questioning whether those were reasons
enough to love her.
“She really is beautiful, and her figure is ideal, too. Like an angel out of a
daydream or something. I mean, she is an angel, but—”
“It’s not just that she’s cute and has a good personality; she seriously can
do anything she tries her hand at. Even her figure is extraordinary. Though
usually her assets are hidden under her uniform… But trust me, she looks
amazing in her gym clothes. Insanely impressive.”
“That’s…crazy all right,” Amane muttered.
“I like flat girls like Shirakawa, too, but man, you know, girls with big
ones are just the best. It’s every guy’s dream.”
“You guys are being rude. I think it’d be better if you all shut up now, for
everyone’s sake.”
Amane was suddenly in a rather unpleasant mood.
He could feel the sharp stares trained in their direction from around the
room, and even though he knew they weren’t pointed at him, exactly, it was
still enough to make his blood run cold. Amane didn’t have to look to know
just who was giving him the angriest glares. He was not looking forward to
dealing with that later.
The last thing Amane wanted was for people to lump him together with
these two louts, so he made a point of turning his attention to his textbook.
Letting his eyes glide over the course material that he had been discussing
with Mahiru earlier, he sighed softly at the two oafs beside him who had

begun a particularly vulgar conversation, even for high school boys.
“…You know, I really don’t think that Shiina is even going to take a
second look at you if you keep going on and on about your urges in public.”
Amane figured that most girls probably did not appreciate a guy who
participated in that kind of dirty talk. All the more so if they themselves had
full figures.
On top of that, he knew that Mahiru did not appreciate it when someone
approached her just because of her physical appearance. In fact, it was likely
to put her off if she suspected they were only interested in her body.
When Amane glanced over at where Mahiru was sitting, he knew the girls
must have heard them, because Mahiru was patting Chitose’s arm, trying to
calm her friend’s raging bloodlust.
Itsuki sometimes teased Chitose in private, but that was between the two
of them. If some stranger started casually talking about her body, she had
every reason to be furious.
Mahiru’s angelic expression never faltered as she comforted her friend,
but Amane got the feeling that she, too, looked angry somehow.
I didn’t say anything, though…
In his mind, Amane offered this explanation to Mahiru, then shut out the
conversation of his two annoying male classmates by focusing on his book.
The pair didn’t seem to mind all the dirty looks they were getting, and
Amane felt no obligation to step in. Or more accurately, he had already tried
to stop them, and they were continuing nonetheless.
Amane quietly let out another heavy sigh when the boys started talking
about how great the angel was.
The angel is probably only the angel because guys like you act like that.
He didn’t voice the thought. The words just rolled around in his mouth
and vanished without ever coming out.
“…Um, Miss Shiina?”

That evening, Mahiru had gone to Amane’s apartment as usual, but she
was wearing a stormy expression. She was acting so differently that he
unintentionally called her by her last name.
“What is it?”
Her reply was curt. She was definitely mad about something.

Seeing the fundamentally gentle and tolerant Mahiru so bothered gave
Amane a bit of a stomachache.
“What’s got you in a bad mood?”
“I am not in a bad mood.”
“…No, you definitely are.”
“Am not.”
Mahiru was sitting next to him on the sofa, her expression unchanging. It
wasn’t exactly obvious that she was angry—more like she was oozing
displeasure. It might have been more accurate to say that the air around her
felt prickly.
Amane struggled to think of what might be aggravating her—then he
remembered she had seen him talking to their classmates earlier that day.
“…Ah, maybe you think I joined in with those guys discussing your
figure?”
If Mahiru thought that, he could understand why she would be upset. It
probably wasn’t very pleasant to picture the person you were sitting with
drooling over your body.
Mahiru had stiffened at Amane’s words, so his conjecture had probably
been accurate.
“You overheard us, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, well, uh… I heard that part of the conversation, but…”
“Sorry. That must have been awful for you to have to hear.”
“No, I, um… I’m used to hearing comments about my appearance, and
it’s not the first time someone’s remarked directly on my figure, so it was
more like ‘Oh, I see.’”
Mahiru had been conducting herself as the angel for many years, and her
statement was typical of a girl who never failed to put in the effort to
maintain her good looks.
However, from the way Mahiru said it, Amane could tell she’d been the
victim of harassment before, and he felt ashamed to belong to the same
gender as anyone who would be so crude.
“Well, I was appalled they had the nerve to say those things in a place
with girls around. I mean, their preferences are their own business, but if they
had to get all worked up like that, you’d think they’d have the decency to at
least do it somewhere in private. I can’t even imagine saying those kinds of
things in front of all those people.”

“One hundred percent.”
The boys should have thought about the time and the place, but they
clearly hadn’t. It had been inappropriate for them to have a conversation like
that where other people could hear. Actually, as far as Amane was concerned,
it was indecent to talk about that kind of thing at all.
“I noticed you were bothered by what they said, Amane, and I could hear
that you didn’t join in. The other girls were impressed, too.”
“Th-thank goodness… You know I wouldn’t want to get mixed up with
that.”
“…If anything, it made me a bit worried. Maybe you focus a little too
much on always being a gentleman…and not enough on remembering that
you’re a man.”
“Isn’t that a little harsh?”
He felt irritated that his classmates, and even Mahiru, doubted his
manliness.
“It’s the truth,” she said, turning away. She was still giving off hints that
she was a little upset about something, and when she noticed Amane
frowning, she hugged a cushion to her knees. “…Apparently you don’t
consider me very attractive, which hurts my confidence.”
“And just what, exactly, brought you to that conclusion?”
“You apparently aren’t interested, for one.”
She must had heard him say he had no interest in the angel.
“Wait, what I said was that I don’t have any interest in the angel. The
angel is the character you play at school, right? What I meant was that even
though I’m interested in Mahiru, I don’t have much interest in Mahiru
masquerading as the angel. I think it looks like a tough gig; that’s all.”
“…So you do find me attractive, then?”
“I’d have to be blind to think otherwise. You’re incredibly beautiful. As
the person most often by your side, I can assure you of that.”
Amane couldn’t imagine how anyone could see it any other way. After
spending so much time with Mahiru, he had gotten to know many different
facets of her personality and had come to regard her with great affection. His
love for her only increased and never diminished. That alone was proof that
she was appealing.
As Amane spoke, Mahiru began nervously pinching and tugging at the
fabric of the cushion she was clutching. She couldn’t seem to look him in the

eye.
“I-if that’s true, then it’s fine, but…”
Mahiru squirmed and nodded like she was hesitating to say something,
then buried her face in the cushion. Her ears were bright red, poking out from
beneath her blond hair, and it was very obvious she was embarrassed.
When she got like this, he knew the only thing to do was give her some
space, so Amane turned away, leaning against the sofa’s armrest.
He knew if he didn’t cool off, Mahiru would be sure to see it in his face
when she recovered.
…If it embarrasses her so much, she could just not say anything.
As the two of them both considered their words, Amane let out a sigh too
quiet for Mahiru to hear.

“I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Amane was normally never on the receiving end of Mahiru’s angelic
smile, so when she turned it on him, it made him want to groan.
“…Same here,” he responded in a quiet voice.
As a rule, Amane never approached Mahiru at school, but he didn’t have
much choice if she was the one who approached him. But this time, it wasn’t
Mahiru’s fault; instead, it was simply because they had decided to team up, as
friends.
Their home economics class was going to feature a cooking segment in
several days, and the students had been given the freedom to form their own
teams, as well as the right to choose what dishes they were going to prepare.
However, they were required to put together a menu that applied their lessons
about nutrition, and they would be graded on that menu, so they needed to
take it seriously.
There were, of course, many potential suitors hoping to be on the same
team as Mahiru, but she formed a pair with her good friend Chitose, and her
partner Chitose pulled in her boyfriend, Itsuki. Amane, who thought he was
paired up with Itsuki, naturally came along with him, so from the outside it
looked like he was with Mahiru. They were getting even more stares now,
and Amane could already feel a stomachache coming on.
Chitose, the main culprit in a sense, was grinning cheekily as she arranged
some nearby desks for them. “Ah-ha-ha! You look like you swallowed a bug,
Amane!” she cackled.
“And whose fault do you think that is?” Amane replied.

Once they had pushed four desks together and taken their seats, Mahiru
smiled at him apologetically, letting her angelic expression slip just a bit.
“I’m sorry for intruding,” she said gracefully.
“No, this isn’t your fault,” Amane insisted. “I’m just worried about
whether I’m going to be stabbed by those daggers in everyone’s eyes.”
“It’s just like Amane not to appreciate his good fortune,” Chitose
admonished.
“I just don’t wanna hog all the good luck, is all.”
It was probably just his imagination, but he thought he heard displeased
voices quietly agreeing. All the other boys must have been clamoring for the
chance to eat the angel’s handmade food, and he knew they were angry to see
it go to a guy who didn’t even seem to want it that badly. He was being
pierced by thorny gazes full of jealousy and envy.
“But you know I’ll have a hard time if you’re not with me, man,” Itsuki
added. “Besides, all the other teams are groups of friends.”
“Hmm…” Amane couldn’t argue that point.
He wasn’t exactly an outcast or anything, but he certainly wasn’t popular
or charming enough to insert himself into another group of friends and expect
to get along well. It would have been difficult for Amane alone to leave his
group now that they were assembled.
“Just give up and accept your fate!” Itsuki insisted. “If you’re gonna
whine so much, maybe we never should have been friends in the first place!”
“…I don’t regret being your friend.”
“Oh, I’m getting all choked up!”
“Ugh, you know, maybe I’m starting to regret it after all,” Amane shot
back.
Itsuki pressed his hands to his face. “A cruel double cross!” he moaned
dramatically, and then he cackled with cheerful laughter.
Amane was not particularly impressed with his friend’s performance. He
was just starting to think about pinching Itsuki’s cheeks when he heard a
quiet laugh mixed with a sigh.
Mahiru was smiling in amusement.
“I’ve thought this before, but you two really are good friends, aren’t you?
It’s enough to make me jealous.”
“…I guess.”
Even though she already knew they were good friends, Mahiru was acting

as if it was the first time she had ever mentioned it. Amane felt
uncomfortable not being able to respond.
He was grateful she was keeping up the act, but when Mahiru pretended
they were strangers like this, it also made him feel both embarrassed and
frustrated.
Chitose had been listening to their exchange, and with a grin, she patted
Mahiru on the shoulder. “Join in if you like, Mahirun!” she said.
“Hey, stop that,” Amane scolded. “Don’t try to get Shiina involved in
your wild antics. You’re bugging her.”
“No, that’s not the case at all,” Mahiru insisted.
“See?”
“Don’t get carried away, Chitose.”
Chitose liked the idea of getting Amane and Mahiru together. Actually,
she more than endorsed it—whenever she got the chance to steer the
conversation, usually she made every attempt to push them together. That
was fine when they were at Amane’s apartment, but they were currently in
school, and he wanted to avoid doing anything that might draw attention.
“All right, enough with that stuff,” Amane declared. “We’ve got to choose
our menu.”
They only had a limited time to decide on a menu before they would have
to present their choice, so he insisted on making a quick decision in a bid to
show the rest of the class he didn’t hold any particular feelings toward
Mahiru.
Chitose looked somewhat dumbfounded. “You can’t cook, but you’re
taking charge?”
“Rude,” Amane said, bristling. “I can make…omelets.”
“…You might call them omelets, but what you make is basically
scrambled eggs,” Mahiru whispered quietly so only the three other people in
her group could hear, causing Itsuki and Chitose to burst into a fit of giggles.
Amane, still wary about being in public, shot Mahiru a slightly reproachful
glance, but she wasn’t bothered by it at all.
Her expression was too much like her usual angelic smile, and Amane
turned away sharply. Chitose and Itsuki grinned once more at his reaction,
which was even more unbearable.
“How about you, Akazawa?” Mahiru asked. “How is your cooking?”
“Me? …Well, it’s good enough to keep me alive,” he replied.

“Itsuki can do pretty much anything around the house, you know,”
Chitose added.
Itsuki, who could somehow manage to do most tasks if he put his mind to
it, could also whip up a flawless meal. Naturally, it wasn’t as good as
Mahiru’s cooking, but it was plenty good enough to survive.
“It’s ’cause my mom’s never at home, thanks to work. I even used to go
over to Amane’s sometimes to make food for him. Don’t do that anymore,
though, huh?”
Itsuki glanced over at Amane meaningfully, and Amane frowned, but
Itsuki just smiled.
“I suppose that’s true.”
“…If you guys don’t shut up, everybody’s gonna find out what a loser I
am.”
“Too late, bro.”
“Bit late, isn’t it?”
“You guys are way too in sync.”
“Heh-heh. Well, now you don’t have to worry about meals; isn’t that
great?”
“…W-wait, I do make some effort!” Amane protested. “Sometimes I
make something when I’m alone…”
He didn’t think it was good to leave everything up to Mahiru, so on the
weekends or when Mahiru wasn’t around, he did take a stab at cooking. Of
course, he stuck to simple recipes that could be made in the broiler or using
the range.
Amane had gotten quite flustered, when for some reason Mahiru smiled at
him affectionately and commended him. “How admirable.”
There was a painful amount of meaning hidden in those words. Amane’s
cheek twitched.
She was probably teasing him because she was perfectly aware of how
much Amane struggled when it came to cooking. Compared to Mahiru’s
cooking, his feeble efforts were comparable to a child’s. She was probably
amused by how terrible they were. But he was steadily making improvements
—when he started, he couldn’t do anything for himself—and he needed it to
be said.
“Well, how about we decide on a menu for now?” Mahiru suggested.
“Our grades depend on it.”

Without making any overt reference to Amane’s distressed state, Mahiru,
still with a gentle smile, tapped the menu worksheet they needed to turn in to
complete the assignment.
Mahiru was the best cook among them, so the group had quietly agreed to
put Mahiru in charge. Even though Amane had learned to make a few things,
he was still an amateur, especially when it came to creating a nutritionally
balanced menu. So it made sense to follow Mahiru’s lead. After all, she chose
the menu for dinner practically every night.
After some discussion, the group decided on a sanshoku soborodon, a dish
of minced meat, eggs, and vegetables served over rice, with miso soup and
cellophane noodle salad on the side, plus almond jelly for dessert. Chitose
was grinning from ear to ear at the menu.
Mahiru had casually included an egg dish, probably because she knew
Amane liked them. That fact did not escape Chitose’s and Itsuki’s notice, and
Amane hid behind his worksheet to avoid their taunting stares.
And then, on the actual day of the cooking class, Amane let out an exhausted
sigh.
He was supposedly working as Mahiru’s assistant, but really she was just
babysitting him. He stood near Mahiru and watched her put on her apron, a
sight he had grown accustomed to.
“I’m counting on you for support, okay, Fujimiya?” she said with a smile.
This wasn’t any scheme of Chitose’s. The group had simply decided that
Amane was the least useful when it came to kitchen work. He even had a
prior record—he’d cut his finger right in front of Mahiru—so they had
thought it best not to let him handle anything too involved.
He could understand their reasoning, as all of them were equally intent on
avoiding any bloodshed, and because they wanted to do their work quickly,
since the students would be dismissed to lunch starting with the finished
teams, so he didn’t argue. However, he did still take the time to insist, rather
loudly, that he “…wasn’t exactly totally incapable.”
“…Are you sulking?” Mahiru asked him stealthily once she’d finished
preparing the vegetables.
As he was measuring out the seasonings, without looking at her, Amane
replied, “No, of course not. I just feel like I’m being unfairly judged.”

“No one’s judging you. It’s just, well…um, you can’t deny that the rest of
us are more efficient.”
“I certainly can’t.”
It went without saying that Mahiru could cook, and Amane had eaten
Itsuki’s cooking before, so he knew Itsuki could handle himself in the kitchen
just fine, and as long as Chitose didn’t do anything crazy with the seasonings,
she could be expected to perform reasonably well. Amane wasn’t entirely
helpless, but he was objectively less capable than the three of them, so he
couldn’t really shoot back if they teased him on that point.
“And so I think it’s best to get you to work in your area of strength. Also,
Chitose’s liable to get carried away with the seasonings, so I think we’d
better leave that up to you, Fujimiya… It’s an important job, you know.”
“That’s a serious responsibility…is what I thought at first, but I just have
to follow the recipe, right?”
“Preventing a Chitose surprise before it happens is also a crucial job.”
Mahiru let a giggle slip out, and Amane glanced over at Chitose.
She was simmering rice in a pot while cleaning up after she and Itsuki had
prepared the almond jelly and placed it in the refrigerator. There probably
weren’t any pranks in the jelly.
Chitose didn’t have an unsophisticated palate, but she did strangely enjoy
extreme flavors and surprises, so Itsuki had been tasked with supervising her
to guard against any of that. Plus, this way she could work alongside her
boyfriend.
Laughing quietly, Mahiru pulled out the bean sprouts and carrots that had
finished simmering in their basket, so Amane pulled off two or three sheets
of paper towel from the roll sitting on the counter.
“Fujimiya?”
“Yeah, got it.”
Mahiru handed him the boiled vegetables in their basket, so Amane
chilled them slightly and used the paper towels to sponge off some of the
moisture, then threw them into the bowl of seasonings he had prepared in
advance, along with the rinsed cellophane noodles and julienned cucumber
and ham.
Recalling Mahiru’s welcome words that cooking wasn’t such a difficult
thing as long as you measured correctly and paid attention to the instructions,
Amane performed his tasks according to the recipe. The chef had left him

with the simplest jobs, so there wasn’t exactly a ton to be proud of, though.
“After I stir in the sesame seeds, I can put this in the refrigerator, right?”
he asked.
“That’s right, and then…”
“Put the noodles in and take the minced meat out.”
The simmering rice was almost ready, so he figured she was planning to
get the bowls out before too long.
Mahiru watched as he covered the bowl containing the noodle salad with
plastic wrap and wrote their team number on it. Apparently, he’d done it
right, as she started to ready the frying pan without making any corrections.
The vegetables for the miso soup were already done cooking, and they
just needed to dissolve the miso paste. Chitose and Itsuki had put the almond
jelly in the refrigerator to chill and congeal, so all that was left was to get the
rice bowls ready.
Taking care not to bump anyone on the way, Amane exchanged minced
meat for noodle salad in the fridge and returned to their station.
As he was walking back to his own group’s station, he took a sidelong
glance at the other teams. Some were doing all right, while others were
bickering. One of the teams made up of all boys was playing around and
wasting ingredients, and the teacher who was overseeing this exercise in
student autonomy was glaring sharply at them.
…Seeing that makes me glad I have Mahiru with me.
The fact that Amane’s team had been able to do their work more smoothly
than other teams was thanks to Mahiru’s great familiarity with the cooking
process and also because they’d chosen a menu that wasn’t too demanding.
“Rather than showing off with some complicated menu, it’ll be easier to
make a meal that’s nutritious and doesn’t take too much time. Food is
something you have to make every day, so you shouldn’t fixate on things that
tire you out, right?”
Amane had asked her at home about her reasoning for the menu, and
that’s how she had answered. He thought it was a rational way of thinking,
typical of Mahiru, who made dinner for the two of them every night.
From Amane’s perspective, even this simple menu took plenty of work to
get right, so this cooking class was bringing him a renewed appreciation of
Mahiru’s worth.
Musing seriously to himself that the people in charge of the kitchens of

the world must have a hard time making every meal, he returned to their
counter, where Mahiru was giving Chitose instructions. Itsuki was nowhere
to be seen, but Mahiru must have understood his unspoken question from the
look in his eyes, because she promptly informed him, “I asked Akazawa to go
fetch the dishes from the other room.” She continued, “All right then, I’m
entrusting the meat to you.”
“Got it,” Amane replied. “Cook it until the juice dries up, right?”
“That’s right. Thanks.”
Mahiru seemed to be working on the yellow and green portions of the
tricolor rice bowl. She boiled water to parboil the spinach as she cracked and
scrambled the eggs. Mahiru had finished preparing the frying pan for use,
leaving Amane with only the simple task of heating the mixture of meat and
seasonings.
As she used a cloth to dry the pot she had used and washed, Chitose
watched him frying the meat with a strange look in her eye. “…I thought you
couldn’t cook?”
“I keep telling you, I’m not completely helpless. I just look bad next to
her; that’s all.”
The job he’d been assigned was to simmer the meat and seasonings,
stirring the mixture with a wooden spatula until the moisture was evaporated.
He was offended that she assumed he couldn’t even manage this much. It
wasn’t like they were comic book characters cooking up dark matter here.
Amane figured that most recipes got messed up when the cook used too
much heat, timed things poorly, or added too many ingredients. But they had
Mahiru to guide them, so they practically could not fail.
“If you must know, I memorized the recipe so I wouldn’t get in the way.”
“How thoughtful of you, Amane.”
“Well, if I didn’t pull my weight, the other guys would kill me.”
He could feel them trying to stare daggers through him and could almost
hear their thoughts (…Is he gonna enjoy the angel’s hand-cooked meal
without working for it…?) So he was trying to do something, at least.
Amane was fully aware that he was not naturally gifted at cooking, so he
had studied the recipe even more seriously than he would a textbook, but
Mahiru had laughed at him. “You don’t have to take it that seriously,” she
had said at home, but he knew he ought to be ready just in case.
Amane checked that the meat was browning and had started giving off a

salty-sweet aroma, and he stirred it appropriately with the wooden spatula so
it wouldn’t burn.
Beside him, Mahiru was using the other burner to cook scrambled eggs.
Amane felt a little embarrassed that she was making more than the usual
amount because she knew how much he loved eggs, but he was also happy
she was thinking of him.
“Shiina, do I let this go a little longer?” he asked.
“That’s right,” Mahiru answered. “You should let it boil down a little bit
more. But it’ll get dry if you simmer it too long, so please take it off the heat
in about one minute.”
“Mm, got it.” He nodded.
Most of the moisture had already been cooked off, so he stirred the
mixture with his spatula to keep it from burning while Mahiru went back to
her own work without saying anything further.
Chitose was watching Amane and Mahiru from the side, and she
shrugged, looking slightly amazed. “…You know, the two of you seem, well,
what can I say…? It’s like you’re newlyw—”
“Chitose, please mind the miso soup.”
“Eeep, yes, ma’am!”
Chitose let out an idiotic shriek for some reason and went to take the miso
soup out of the refrigerator.
Amane quickly looked over to Mahiru. “…Did something happen?”
“Nothing at all.”
It didn’t seem like nothing at all, but Mahiru didn’t seem likely to tell him
more, so he gave up on getting any more information out of her and turned
off the burner he had been using to fry the meat.
By the time Mahiru had finished cooking the eggs and sliced and dressed the
parboiled spinach with seasonings, Itsuki had returned with the dishes.
“Aren’t you a bit late?”
“Yeah, sorry. Some folks from the other teams came to talk to me.”
Itsuki smiled flippantly, but his face didn’t really look like he was joking
around. He wasn’t the type to skip out on something like this, so he probably
had actually gotten held up talking to someone and couldn’t extract himself
right away.

It wasn’t clear who he had spoken with or what they had talked about, but
Amane got the sense that it had something to do with Mahiru. Without her
nearby, their jealous classmates could speak freely, so they had probably
directed their complaints at Itsuki in Amane’s stead. Of course, this was all
conjecture; he didn’t really know.
“Well, at any rate, I did my job, so…” Itsuki pointed to a tray bearing the
right number of plates and bowls.
Mahiru smiled gently at him. “Everything’s ready. Let’s arrange it and
take a photo for our report, then help ourselves, shall we?”
“Hell yeah!” Itsuki cheered. “I’m starving.”
“That’s ’cause you skipped breakfast, isn’t it?” Chitose remarked.
“Not my fault; I overslept. Can I have an extra-big portion?”
“I don’t mind,” Mahiru replied. “I’m going to get the noodle salad now,
so please arrange things in the meanwhile.”
Amane quickly spoke up. “I’ll go with you, then. We’ve got to put the
almond jelly with everything else for the photo.”
Amane said he would help, figuring Mahiru wouldn’t have enough hands
to carry the dessert as well, and she nodded at him with her calm smile.
A little too late, he realized he should have sent Chitose, mostly to get it
done without inviting unnecessary speculation, but there was no going back
now. Amane deliberately kept a little distance between them as they headed
for the refrigerator in the rear of the kitchen classroom.
None of the other teams had Mahiru in their corner, so most of them
weren’t finished yet. As usual, a few groups were only half-heartedly
working through the exercise. Amane thought it looked like they were going
to get awful grades as he walked past them indifferently.
There was even a team of boys who were chatting and fooling around
instead of cooking. One of them held his frying pan in one hand and laughed
as he leaned away from the table with an exaggerated movement—right into
the path of a girl carrying a pot full of soup.
In that instant, Amane sensed impending disaster and pulled Mahiru out
of the way.
A few seconds later, he heard a loud splash followed by the faint,
permeating smell of milk as hot steam whirled around him.
The girl must have been making a cream soup, given the half a cup or so
of thick white liquid that was currently spreading across the floor. He peeled

his eyes away to confirm that none had splashed on Mahiru.
“Shiina, are you burned?”
“…Ah, no, it didn’t hit me, but…”
Mahiru looked frozen with surprise.
The girl who had spilled her soup looked apologetic, and the face of the
boy with the frying pan who had bumped into her was ghastly pale.
“Did any of it hit you?” Amane asked the girl with the soup.
“Ah, n-no, I’m all right. S-sorry…!”
“It’s okay. None of it hit me or Shiina, either.”
Luckily, he had been quick to notice the danger, and neither Mahiru nor
Amane was injured.
He was quick to wave his hand and reassure his female classmate, who
had set the pot on a burner for the time being to apologize, while shooting a
glance over at the boy who had collided with her.
As one would expect, the other boys who had been joking around with
him kept their mouths shut, maybe because they felt guilty. They were
looking practically everywhere except in Mahiru’s direction.
“…Look, guys, it’s fine to live it up a little, but you can’t mess around in
a place with fire and knives and stuff,” Amane said. “If someone got hurt and
it left a permanent mark, you’d never forgive yourselves. Thank goodness
nothing happened this time, but what would you have done if you’d hurt one
of the girls? Could you take responsibility for that?”
It would be no laughing matter if someone got burned—or cut with a
knife—and came away from the incident with a scar. Amane wouldn’t mind
if he got hurt a little bit, but it would be a serious problem if he injured
another person, especially a girl.
Many girls, and even a lot of guys, would be pretty upset if they were left
with a nasty injury. And if someone got seriously hurt in a stupid accident
like this, it wouldn’t be strange if they held a grudge.
Whether the wounded party was Mahiru or the other girl didn’t matter.
Someone acting irresponsibly in a way that could cause injury to another
person made Amane angry, and he felt compelled to speak up.

Amane was usually very quiet and mostly kept to himself, so when the
guilty boy, who looked like he didn’t expect to be told off, saw his narrowed
eyes and heard his sharp tone, he quickly tendered a disheartened apology.
“S-sorry…”
Realizing that if he spoke too forcefully, he was likely to cause a fight,
Amane switched to a more mellow tone of voice. “You don’t need to
apologize to me, but you’d better apologize to Yamazaki, who you ran into,
and to Shiina, who nearly got splashed. Anyway, be more careful next time.
The kitchen can be a dangerous place.”
Then he looked at Mahiru.
He’d had one arm wrapped around her the entire time, and Mahiru’s face
had gone slightly red. Though he felt some regret over touching her like that,
it was too late to worry about that now, so he gently released her and, taking
care not to make any strange faces, pointed toward the refrigerator.
“Shiina, I’m sorry for touching you without your permission. Please, go
ahead and take the salad over to our team. I’m going to help wipe up here.”
“I-it’s all right; I might have gotten jostled, but I’m the one who spilled
everything,” Yamazaki, the girl with the soup, stammered.
“Well anyway, I was involved, too, and all my team has left to do now is
eat. It won’t take long, so don’t worry about it.”
She had only spilled a little bit, so cleaning it up wouldn’t take that much
time.
After reassuring his distressed classmate, Amane got the teacher’s
permission and pulled off several sheets of paper towel from the roll on the
counter and mopped up the soup.
The small amount of liquid was quickly absorbed by the handful of
towels. Right as Amane was thinking that all he needed to do now was wipe
it down with a wet towel, Mahiru appeared from somewhere with a damp
cloth in hand and did just that.
“It’ll go faster if we work together,” she murmured. Then she gave
Amane an angelic smile from up close, which was deeply unsettling for some
reason.
“Welcome back!”
After they finished cleaning up, Amane and Mahiru returned to their table

carrying the noodle salad and almond jelly about five minutes later than
expected, and Chitose greeted them with an impish grin.
Amane’s and Mahiru’s portions, minus the salad and jelly, were already
laid out on the table, so Amane divided everyone’s share of cellophane
noodle salad into the salad dishes and let out a sigh.
“I’m so tired…,” Amane groaned.
“You looked pretty cool back there, man,” Itsuki remarked. “And bold,
for once.”
“It’s not like I was trying to cop a feel or anything,” Amane insisted. “I
had to get her out of the way of the soup, that’s all.”
He hadn’t set out to embrace the angel or anything. And even though no
one had criticized his split-second decision, several other boys did give him
jealous looks that made him uncomfortable.
As for Mahiru, she frowned at him just the slightest bit when she heard
what he said. Only someone who knew her well would have noticed this.
“Well, I feel like you really saved me. Thank you for holding me.”
“I only did it because your apron or uniform might have gotten dirty, or
even worse, you might have been burned. That guy seemed sorry, too, so
that’s good.”
As one would expect, the boy who had caused the collision received all
the blame. After all, they were in a place where a single misstep might result
in a serious accident. At the moment, the boy in question was getting a
serious tongue lashing from their teacher.
Amane was satisfied since ultimately no one had been hurt. And he hadn’t
been put at risk, either. Yes, he had touched Mahiru where everyone could
see, which could have turned out worse than getting burned by hot soup. But
judging by the atmosphere around the classroom, he seemed to have been
forgiven for that slipup.
“So if you can be that brave in the face of danger,” Itsuki remarked, “then
why are you usually such a weenie?”
“I’m sorry, did you say something?” It was clear from the look in
Amane’s eyes and the tone of his voice that he was not interested in hearing
whatever rude thing his friend was planning to say.
“Nothing at all,” Itsuki grinned. “At any rate, we finished making our
lunch without incident, so let’s take that photo, yeah?” He quickly occupied
himself by fiddling with the camera on his phone.

The students needed to check recipes and send in their photographs, so
they were being allowed to use their phones in class, but not for playing
around. Itsuki was obviously pointing his camera lens at people and not food,
so Amane gave him an exasperated look, but Chitose excitedly pushed her
way into the camera’s view.
“You too, Mahirun!” she urged. “Get in, get in.”
“You guys…,” Amane groaned.
Mahiru blinked dramatically, then drew her seat over slightly closer to
Amane’s with a little smile.
Et tu, Mahiru…? Amane thought. He was surprised to see her flash him a
quick, impish little grin, just for a second, before she donned her angelic
smile again.
“Come on, you too, Itsuki,” Chitose insisted.
“Wait, but who will take the…? Oh, perfect timing, Yuuta! Come take
this picture.”
“Huh, what’s this all of a sudden?”
Yuuta just happened to be passing by, probably on his way back from the
refrigerator, carrying a tray of thinly sliced pork. Itsuki pressed his
smartphone into Yuuta’s hand, then circled around behind Amane and
flashed a peace sign.
Yuuta looked surprised by the sudden request, but when he saw the
completed dishes lined up in front of Amane, he seemed to understand.
With a laugh, he said “Guess I’ve got no choice” and readied the
smartphone. “You guys sure finished fast, huh? Okay, I’m taking it.”
“That’s ’cause we got hustle, man!”
“But you hardly did anything, Itsuki,” Chitose ribbed.
“C’mon, don’t say that; you promised!”
Amane laughed at his friend’s ridiculous protests. Then he heard the
sound of the camera shutter. He froze—Yuuta had taken the picture before
he’d had time to compose himself.
“That’s a good picture!” Yuuta said, before handing Itsuki his smartphone
and leaving.
“Wow, it’s not every day I get a picture with Amane smiling,” Itsuki
remarked.
“That’s ’cause he usually has a sour face on, right?” Chitose said. “Send
the picture to me, too, please!”

“Hoh-kay. Shiina, you get it from Chitose, okay?”
Mahiru had already exchanged contact information with Itsuki, but in this
situation, with people all around them, it was probably best not to say that out
loud.
More importantly, it bothered Amane that Itsuki was sending the photo to
Mahiru before letting him check it.
He shot a look over at Mahiru and got an adorable, albeit restrained, smile
in response, so Amane could do nothing but groan and watch them quickly
share the photo.
“…No one cares what my face looks like, so we might as well eat,”
Amane muttered, hoping to end the conversation there.
Itsuki gave him a big grin, so before his friend could return to his own
seat, Amane poked him and turned away in a huff.
After that, Amane stuffed his face with the contents of the rice bowl Itsuki
and Chitose had thoughtfully served up with heaps of egg, and he quickly
forgot the shame of being photographed with a big grin. Mahiru just wore a
happy smile, not paying Itsuki or Chitose any attention.
“Aaamaaaneee, starting today we’re eating lunch with you, too!”

One day, several days after the cooking class, Chitose bounded over
wearing a beaming smile, dragging Mahiru along behind her. Amane’s cheek
twitched.
He and Mahiru were acting less like acquaintances and more like regular
friends around each other. They’d even begun chatting together in public. But
Amane wondered if eating together might be moving too quickly.
Sure, if Chitose gave the pretense of coming over to eat with Itsuki, and
Mahiru came with her, they could probably live under the assumption that
Chitose had simply brought a friend. Their classmates shouldn’t find that too
enviable or suspicious, Amane thought.
Allowing herself to be pulled along by Chitose, Mahiru wore a gentle
smile, conducting herself as she always did—like an angel.
But Amane was very troubled because he could also see something a little
mischievous in her expression. “Ah, maybe I should move over?” he asked.
Chitose was obviously not going to let him get away that easily. “Don’t
worry about it! We’re the ones who decided to join your table, after all.”

Amane couldn’t help feeling like this was Chitose’s idea. But even when
he glared at the smiling—no, grinning—Chitose, she didn’t seem at all
bothered.
She must have planned this with Itsuki, or maybe he was just happy to be
eating with his girlfriend, because Itsuki gave his usual smile and said, “Great
idea; let’s all eat together.”
Amane withered under the expected stares of jealousy from all around
them.
“Oh, are Shirakawa and Shiina eating with us, too?” Yuuta asked as he
stepped up to the table, looking like he intended to join them.
Amane’s stomach started to ache.
“Yes, we were planning to sit with them today,” Mahiru said.
“Really, now?!” Yuuta smiled. “Well, we should have a rather lively
lunch, then!”
Amane was feeling anything but lively.
He wasn’t upset with Yuuta.
He was just in complete shock that Mahiru had come over.
I’m so screwed.
“…Just give in, Amane; we’ve got you surrounded,” Itsuki mumbled
quietly enough that Yuuta couldn’t hear, and Amane let out a huge,
exhausted sigh.
“Do you usually bring your lunch to school, Shiina?” Yuuta asked, indicating
the open lunch box in front of Mahiru.
Amane and Itsuki always ate lunch in the cafeteria, so Mahiru and the
others, who usually ate in the classroom, had joined them.
Once each of the boys had returned to their seats carrying the lunches they
had ordered, Yuuta became curious about Mahiru’s lunch box.
Incidentally, Mahiru was sitting straight across from Amane. Chitose had
encouraged her to take that seat, and there hadn’t been an opening for Amane
to escape.
“Yes, but usually it’s just full of leftovers from dinner.”
On weeknights, Mahiru often cooked things that would pack well into a
lunch box, separating the leftovers into one portion for Amane’s breakfast
and one portion for her own lunch, so that was what she had packed today as

well. He could see that the box contained the teriyaki chicken meatballs they
had eaten yesterday.
“Wow, a homemade meal?”
“Yes. But really, it’s nothing special.”
“Mahirun, it’s not nice to lie!” Chitose interrupted. “You’re super talented
at cooking.”
“How about apprenticing with Shiina?” Itsuki added.
Chitose pouted. “Itsuki, you’re so mean!”
“You just need to get her to teach you how to season things. You can cook
the dishes themselves, but…your seasonings are strange.”
As she clearly demonstrated during the cooking class the other day,
Chitose was actually a fairly accomplished cook. It was just that her desire to
cause mischief often led her to experiment with unorthodox flavors. Itsuki
often complained that everything would be fine, if she just didn’t have that
bad habit.
“Okay, I’ll get Mahirun to start a one-on-one cooking class. We’ll get
Amane to be the taste tester.”
“I don’t think so,” Amane replied. “Besides, that’ll make a lot of trouble
for Shiina. Don’t be so quick to say stuff like that.”
“Actually, I don’t think it’ll be any trouble at all,” Mahiru said. “I think
I’d enjoy cooking with Chitose again.”
“Yay! Mahirun, I love you! It’ll be so much fun! Leave your calendar
open, Amane!”
Chitose was sitting beside Mahiru, clinging tightly to her with a wide
smile.
Mahiru was smiling, too, as she nodded in agreement. Amane felt deeply
moved to realize they had become very close friends.
Chitose just set up a date with Mahiru, right here in front of everyone, just
like that.
Whether it was part of a larger plot, he couldn’t say. But when he looked
at Chitose, he could see that she and Mahiru were smiling pleasantly at each
other.
Amane’s face twitched as he noticed all their nearby classmates had their
ears pricked up, emanating waves of unvoiced jealousy.
“…Hey, Itsuki?” Amane asked.
“Hmm?”

“You think I have any chance of surviving this?”
“Eh, you’ll be fine…probably.”
He was getting dirty looks from Mahiru’s fans, aka the boys who were
madly in love with her. It wasn’t just his imagination. This had clearly been
Chitose’s suggestion, so they weren’t directing the full brunt of their
bloodlust at him just yet, but he feared what might happen the next time
Mahiru suggested something, especially once it became more obvious that
they were good friends.
Yuuta leaned over. “That sounds like fun, huh, Fujimiya?”
“…If I were you, I could probably get through this without people being
so jealous.”
If Amane was attractive and talented like Yuuta, then people would see
him and Mahiru as equals, and even if they were jealous, they’d think there
was little to be done about it and simply give up.
“But I’m also jealous of you, Fujimiya.”
“Jealous of what?”
“All sorts of stuff,” Yuuta said cryptically. Then he laughed.
Amane couldn’t do anything but tilt his head in puzzlement.
Itsuki chimed in, “Now, hold on a minute. There may be something to
what Yuuta’s saying.”
“Seriously?”
“It’s hard for people to recognize what they have. And those who have it
can’t understand the feelings of those who don’t. On top of that, we all want
what we don’t have. Chi’s definitely always whining about what she hasn’t
got.”
“Meaning what?”
“Well, what’s one thing that Mahiru has plenty of but Chi doesn’t
have…?”
“You’re definitely thinking something perverted right now, aren’t you?”
Chitose interrupted. Apparently, she had been listening to their conversation,
and even though she was wearing a broad grin, her eyes were not smiling.
Realizing that this topic was a proverbial land mine, Amane shut his
mouth and watched as Chitose and Itsuki started bantering back and forth.
Then he glanced over at Mahiru. She looked perplexed at Chitose and Itsuki’s
exchange, but when she met Amane’s eyes, her expression changed into a
smile.

It wasn’t her angelic smile, but something closer to the happy yet bashful
expression she let him see at home, so Amane got flustered and quickly
averted his eyes.
“Were you surprised?”

At home, Mahiru was grinning impishly.
Amane couldn’t help but give her a wry smile back. “Surprised? I mean, I
did think you came on pretty strong.”
“I know I said I was going to take it slow, but I thought it was about time
to go to the next step. I’ve also recently realized we won’t make any progress
if I don’t push you a little bit.”
“That’s true.”
She had probably been extra proactive because she knew Amane was
constantly ready to flee, but in that setting, he had been surrounded and
couldn’t get away easily.
Amane had been startled because he hadn’t expected Mahiru to be that
pushy, but they had simply talked. She hadn’t tried to touch him or anything,
so his mind was at ease.
If she had touched him innocently and casually like she did at home, he
had no doubt that deadly blades of jealousy would have closed in on him for
the kill. He depended on her, and she trusted him more than anyone else, but
their classmates had no idea about any of that.
“I’m trying my best to take things bit by bit, so that it doesn’t shake up
your routine too much. But Amane, if something bothers you, please tell me,
okay?”
Mahiru was perfectly aware of her popularity. Amane knew she was
taking great pains not to become too friendly with him too quickly, all so
their classmates wouldn’t get jealous. Typical Mahiru—her first concern was
protecting him.
Still, he couldn’t deny that, this time, he felt like Chitose had gone a little
too far. It was too late to do anything about it now, though, so he would just
have to be more cautious moving forward.
“Well, it’s okay for the time being…,” Amane said. “Though, I do get
jealous looks.”
“Oh really? That’s… Don’t you hate that…?”

Apparently, she was still concerned about the fact that Amane had been
sullen at first.
“But now I understand you were lonely. We were wrong to leave a friend
out, and it was obviously hard on you.”
“…A friend, huh?”
“Hmm?”
“No, nothing.”
It definitely seemed like something was bothering her, but Mahiru didn’t
appear inclined to talk about it. When she turned away, Amane realized he
must have done something to dampen her high spirits.
He went right ahead and stroked her hair.
“…You aren’t thinking you can solve everything just by patting my head
a couple times, right?”
“I don’t, but I thought it might make you happy.”
“Well, it does, but…please don’t do it to just any girl when you’re trying
to smooth things over.”
“I don’t do it to anyone but you, Mahiru…”
To begin with, the only other girl I’m friends with is Chitose. And there’s
no way I’m doing this with her. Besides, I don’t think it would make her very
happy. No, Mahiru’s the only person I’d ever do this with—and the only
person I’d ever want to. She’s the only one I want to pamper.
Amane thought he had made it clear that he was being serious. But
Mahiru still looked upset, and she pounded her fist into one of the cushions.
Amane started drawing his hand back and was surprised when she head-
butted him in the upper arm. It didn’t hurt, but he was still shocked by how
Mahiru had become noticeably more aggressive lately.
“…Amane, you dummy.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Just how hard do I have to try…?”
“I—I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but you’ll wear yourself
out if you try anything too hard, so you should probably take it easy…”
“If I don’t prod you along, we’ll never get anywhere.”
Mahiru looked a bit resentful as he peeked over the top of his shoulder,
and yet he thought he could see embarrassment and a touch of anticipation in
her shimmering eyes.
Amane couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze. “It r-really seems like you

want something from me.”
“…I just want what happens next…”
Next—?
Mahiru must have wanted something further from Amane, but at the
moment, she didn’t seem to be making any additional requests, so for the
time being, Amane decided to continue stroking her head gently and made
every effort to please her.

“Golden Week’s pretty soon, huh?” Amane muttered quietly, gazing at the
calendar on the shelf.
April had been a busy month, and he had been preoccupied with moving
up a grade and Mahiru’s big push to be friendly with him even at school. So
before he knew it, the end of the month was fast approaching, and Golden
Week, highly anticipated by students and adults alike, would soon be upon
them.
Amane didn’t particularly dislike his studies. Actually, if asked, he would
say he enjoyed them. Going to school was a little bit of a hassle but not any
great hardship, so he wasn’t necessarily all that thrilled about the break. He
simply thought it would be nice to have some more time to relax.
Unlike last year, this year Mahiru would be with him for Golden Week, so
he wouldn’t be bored.
Chitose had already claimed one of the days of his break for “taste testing
at Mahiru’s cooking class,” so far from boring, his vacation promised to be
eventful and probably difficult.
“Another long break is coming up…,” Mahiru muttered.
“Yep, but is it me or do you not sound too thrilled?”
“It’s not that I don’t like breaks. I was just wondering how I’ll kill the
time.”
Apparently Mahiru felt similarity. Both of them were homebodies, and
they hadn’t made any plans to speak of.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m happy enough to get a break, but I don’t really have
anything to do.” Amane hadn’t fallen behind in his schoolwork or anything,

so he didn’t feel like he needed to go out of his way to pack his vacation with
studying.
He didn’t have an especially strong desire to partake in his hobbies of
walking or reading, and it wasn’t like he needed to make plans for those
anyway. Same with video games. He really didn’t have any plans.
“…Amane, are you free over the break?”
“I guess I am.”
As things stood, all he had planned were his day as a taste tester for the
impromptu cooking class and going to karaoke at some point with Itsuki and
Yuuta. The break was a whole week long, so his schedule was still wide
open.
He was about to say he’d most likely be relaxing at home, when he
noticed Mahiru staring up at him.
“What’s the matter?”
He met Mahiru’s gaze and saw that she looked like she had something to
say. She reached for her smartphone, which was on top of the table.
More accurately, she reached for the phone case.
Mahiru’s phone case was the wallet type with spots to keep cards and
such, and from one of the card slots, she pulled a small plastic bag with a
zipper.
Inside it were a number of folded slips of paper, and Mahiru took one of
them out and opened it up to show Amane.
Before he even had time to recognize it, he was looking at one of the DO
ANYTHING YOU SAY coupons he had given her a little over a month earlier.
Mahiru held out the coupon, decorated with an illustration of a bear that
Amane personally thought he had drawn quite well, and looked up at him
pointedly again.
“Can I use it?”
“You can ask me to do anything you like.”
“…Over Golden Week, I want one day with you,” she said timidly. “I
want to go shopping, and hang out, and whatever else I request. All right?”
Amane let out a quiet laugh. “Come on, I would go shopping and stuff
with you if you asked. You don’t really need to use a coupon for something
so simple.”
She probably wanted him to get all dressed up to take her out, but he

would have done that for her anytime, so he didn’t think she had to go to so
much trouble.
He laughed at her using her request for such a trivial thing, but Mahiru
shook her head with an earnest look in her eyes.
“Since I’m using the coupon…I get to ask for anything I feel like on that
day.”
“I-if you insist, that’s fine, but…what are you planning to make me do?”
“…C-carry my bags.”
“Yes, yes, as you wish.”
He was tempted to crack a joke about her making him carry super-heavy
bags, but Mahiru just nodded. Even Mahiru, who was at heart an indoor
person, sometimes enjoyed going on an outing, and if she wanted him to
accompany her, he intended to do just that, as much as she desired. Besides,
it was sure to have its benefits.
Although Amane would have preferred not to start a fresh wave of rumors
about Mahiru’s mystery man, life would be dull if the fear of rumors kept
them from going anywhere.
“So where do you plan on taking us?”
“Ah, I—I haven’t decided yet, but—”
“You haven’t decided…?”
“…I mean, I’m not sure what kinds of places you like, so…”
“Huh, me?”
“Well, if we’re out together, I thought it would be nice to pick a place we
could both enjoy. Is that all right?”
No one in the world could have refused Mahiru as she grabbed hold of his
sleeve and looked up at him imploringly.
Amane’s breath caught in his throat, and his eyes darted about in
confusion. Then he roughly brushed back his hair and let out a small sigh.
“…I was just planning to go along with wherever you wanted to go,
Mahiru, but well…in that case, there is one place I’d like to go.”
It was difficult for him to go in alone, but it was someplace he always
wanted to try going at least once.
“Where is that?”
“Promise not to laugh.”
“I won’t laugh.”
“…A cat café.”

That’s right, a cat café, filled to the brim with adorable cats.
Amane liked animals a fair amount, but of course he wasn’t able to keep a
pet in an apartment and could only admire animals in magazines or other
people’s pets. But he was too afraid of what people might think if they saw a
single guy going to an animal café. He was just too embarrassed to go.
However, if Mahiru was with him, he could go without worrying about
other people’s stares following him. They might stare for other reasons, but
he felt like he could at least enter a café without reservations if Mahiru was
by his side.
Besides all that, Amane also thought Mahiru would look very cute playing
with cats, but of course he couldn’t say that out loud.
“…Well, I th-thought that if we were together, I wouldn’t be embarrassed.
Do you mind?”
“N-no, not at all! All right then… Let’s go together, shall we?”
“…Yeah.”
Amane couldn’t hide his nervousness. He felt both grateful and awkward
that Mahiru had accepted his request. She giggled softly, and heat began to
creep up Amane’s face. Quickly, he changed the subject.
“What should we do after the café?”
“After that, we’ll go shopping together, and…ah, I want to try going to an
arcade. I’ve never been to a place like that.”
Amane was not surprised to hear that the aristocratic Mahiru had never
been to a game center. But she was apparently interested, so in that case, he
was more than willing to take her to one and teach her the ropes.
The last game center he visited would probably have gotten a new
shipment of stuffed animals she would like by now, and it would be fun to
win them together.
“All right, sounds like that’ll be good. We’ll go to a cat café, eat lunch, go
shopping, and go to a game center, okay?”
Amane sighed with relief once they had settled on their schedule for the
day, and Mahiru looked up again so he could see her face.
“Yep, I’m really looking forward to it.”
He nearly stopped breathing when she looked at him so bashfully.
“I can’t wait for the break to be here,” she added quietly, and to Amane, it
sounded like she was looking forward to their outing from the bottom of her
heart. She hugged the cushion tightly, clearly in a good mood.

Amane was momentarily stunned by her sweet smile. He could feel his
heart pounding. “…Me too,” he managed to reply hoarsely.
The surprise attack from the angel really made his heart ache.

“Welcome to the first-ever Mahirun Cooking Class!”
Chitose made this announcement with the rhythm and energy of a
television cooking program’s intro. Amane shot her an annoyed look.
Golden Week had started, and they had decided to hold Mahiru’s cooking
class on the first day of the break. The venue was Amane’s apartment, for the
simple reason that it was an easy place for Mahiru and Chitose to meet.
Chitose’s family was at her house, so they wouldn’t be able to get too
noisy, and Mahiru had volunteered her place, but Amane had balked at going
into a girl’s apartment, so they had settled on his.
Wearing an apron, Chitose was getting herself all worked up. “Yaaay!
We’ve invited Miss Mahiru Shiina to be our lecturer for the course!”
Mahiru, too, was wearing her apron and a wry smile as she stood next to
Chitose.
“You didn’t invite her anywhere,” Amane insisted. “You’re also a guest
here, you know.”
“And as our taste tester…we’ve invited the extremely tiresome Mr.
Amane Fujimiya!”
“Oh, shut up. Also, this my house.”
“He’s no fun at all!”
Amane just couldn’t keep up with Chitose’s incredibly high-energy
personality this early in the morning. It was just past nine. They had planned
to finish cooking around lunchtime, so this was the only time they could
meet.

Amane didn’t really mind the hour, but Chitose was a lot to deal with
right after waking up.
“…Sorry about this, first thing in the morning…,” Mahiru apologized.
“No, it’s fine. You are making me lunch, after all,” Amane insisted.
“Though, speaking of which, please keep an eye on Chitose so she doesn’t
put anything strange in it.”
“O, ye of little faith!”
“Have you forgotten your previous offense on Valentine’s Day…?”
He still hadn’t forgotten the taste of her prank chocolates. The ones with
nothing weird in them had been delicious, of course, but the taste of the
surprise special chocolates had been shocking enough that he could recall it
even now. And he couldn’t trust Chitose’s palate, since she claimed she had
been able to eat those experimental pieces like regular sweets.
“Ah-ha-ha, but those were meant to be a prank. It’ll be fine if I’m cooking
normally. Probably.”
“That ‘probably’ worries me, you ass… I’m begging you, please make
something I can eat.”
“Don’t worry about it!” said Chitose confidently as she started rolling up
her sleeves.
Amane felt a tinge of anxiety as he watched the girls set up, but he
believed Mahiru would probably intervene on his behalf somehow.
Mahiru didn’t compromise on dishes she planned to serve to other people,
and she was the one running this lesson, so Amane was confident they would
make the food properly, and everything would be fine.
With Chitose in tow, Mahiru headed for his kitchen as if it were her own
home and read out the names of the dishes on the day’s menu.
Namely, today’s lunch would consist of a quiche and salad, with shrimp
bisque and a sauté of any excess ingredients. She had apparently decided to
answer Amane’s request to include shrimp.
He was sure that everything would go okay, but he still worried about
Chitose putting something strange into the quiche.
“…I feel like you’re being needlessly wary…,” Chitose protested. Maybe
she had noticed him staring at her.
Amane averted his eyes and flopped down on the sofa. His job was to be a
taste tester, so he didn’t really have to do anything, and that suited him just
fine. He wasn’t totally useless as Mahiru’s helper, but that was Chitose’s role

today, and anyway, he had been instructed by Mahiru to sit down, so he
couldn’t move from his spot.
And so he had lots of free time.
He looked into the kitchen and saw the two girls in their aprons pleasantly
chatting as they started their work.
They were both beautiful girls in different ways, and having them both
here, wearing aprons and cooking in his apartment, would surely make any
other boy in their class drool with envy, Amane mused, as if he were an
uninvolved observer.
Fighting off a second round of anxiety over whether the practical jokester
might pull something outrageous, Amane let his eyes drift closed, unsure of
what else to do with his glut of free time.
Apparently, cooking class would take several hours, so they probably
wouldn’t mind if he took a little nap. It was his apartment, after all, so the
only one who could blame him for anything was…Mahiru.
Amane let out a small yawn and made himself comfortable on the sofa.
When he came to, Amane detected a sweet scent nearby. It was an aroma he
had become used to, a sweet fragrance that was milky and floral, hard to
describe but extremely pleasant, so without thinking, he inhaled deeply.
In his barely conscious state, he brought his face closer to the source of
the smell and felt something warm and soft to the touch. When he snuggled
his cheek closer to the pleasant warmth, it started to squirm.
“…Ah, um, that tickles…,” said a halting voice from somewhere very
close by. Amane realized someone was patting his thigh. This quickly
dragged his dim consciousness up to the surface, and when he pried open his
heavy eyelids…what he saw was an expanse of smooth milky white.
He nervously lifted his head and found Mahiru’s flushed face incredibly
close to his. She looked very embarrassed.
“…Mahiru?”
“Yes?”
“…Uh…good morning?”
“Good morning. Although…actually, it’s already time to say good
afternoon.”
He looked at the digital clock on the shelf and saw that it was past noon.

He had dozed off for quite a while, he realized. But what was Mahiru
doing by his side?
“When I sat down next to you, you leaned onto me.”
Mahiru answered his unspoken question, her cheeks still tinged slightly
red.
Apparently, he had nestled his face into the area near her shoulder. The
shirt she was wearing today had a fairly open neckline, which left some skin
peeking out, and that seemed to be where he had stuck his face.
If he was unlucky, she might consider this a matter of sexual harassment,
so he prepared himself for her anger, but Mahiru seemed more embarrassed
than angry and just cast her eyes downward.
Personally, he would have preferred for her to get mad, because he was
truly at a loss for what to do when she reacted that way. He appeared to have
been forgiven, which made him uncomfortable.
“That’s— I’m sorry,” Amane apologized. “It must have been a pain.”
“N-no, not at all!” she insisted.
“Quite the contrary, Mahirun said ‘I’m going to take advantage of the fact
that Amane’s half asleep’ and sat down to catch your head.”
“Chitose!” Mahiru turned even redder.
“And just when did you two start calling each other by your first names, I
wonder?” Chitose grinned.
“…Chitose.”
“Don’t scowl at me, Amane. You’re the one who was careless!”
He couldn’t argue with that. In his half-conscious state, he’d called
Mahiru by her first name even though Chitose was there. That was his error.
“And anyway, Mahirun already told me about how you two talk when no
one else is around…”
“Look, you—,” Amane growled.
“S-sorry,” Mahiru mumbled.
He quickly shook his head. “No, you’re not to blame here, Mahiru.”
Chitose cackled merrily. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, I think it’s just
great that the two of you are getting so friendly! It’s not a bad thing at all.”
“You’re a real pain, you know that?” Amane glared. “It’s seriously not
what you’re thinking.”
“Ohhh?”
“What?”

“Uh-uh, nothing. Nooothing at aaall!”
Chitose sure seemed like she had a lot to say about nothing, but she
shrugged as if she had no intention of expressing it through words. Amane
knew that when she got like this, it was no good trying to question her, so he
gave up on asking her anything further.
Beside him, Mahiru looked slightly concerned.
“…Mahiru?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.”
Mahiru seemed to come to her senses when he spoke to her. She hurriedly
put on a smile and shook her head, so he knew he couldn’t question her any
further, either. All he could do was shut his mouth.
“…So we made lunch as promised. Wanna eat?” Chitose asked.
“Sure. I can’t believe I dozed off until lunch…”
“You slept like a log, so we had plenty of time to play around, looking at
your sleeping face.”
“…I don’t suppose you pulled any pranks?”
“I did not!” Chitose insisted, though he knew better than to believe her.
“What’s got you so worried, young man?”
“You did something other than a prank, didn’t you?” Amane asked
suspiciously.
“I’m telling you: I didn’t do a thing!”
“I wonder. Mahiru, did she do anything to the food?”
He looked over at Mahiru to confirm, but she must have been caught by
surprise when he suddenly brought up the subject. She looked confused and
smiled wryly.
“Chitose didn’t do anything, but…”
“Really? If she did, I’m thinking of squeezing her until she pops—”
“No violence!”
Chitose was cackling with laughter even as she protested, and Amane
could only sigh in exasperation.
Finally—though Amane didn’t really feel as if any time had passed, since he
had been asleep—it was indeed lunchtime.
Even Chitose seemed to have taken her cooking seriously for a change,
and the table was set with a beautifully cooked quiche and a bisque soup that

was giving off the rich aroma of shrimp.
They had served everything up on individual plates, so the salad, quiche,
bisque, and shrimp sauté were carefully arranged to show off the rich array of
colors. It looked like a lunch that might be served at a cute café.
“Wow, everything looks great!” Amane exclaimed. “…Mahiru, how’s the
flavor?”
“It’s all fine.” She nodded. “Chitose didn’t add anything strange, and I
tasted everything as we went.”
“Great.”
“You really don’t trust me, geez! I made everything properly today, too.
Rude.”
Chitose was in a huff, but she had a history of launching surprise attacks
right after saying something similar, so Amane knew better than to let his
guard down. This time, though, Mahiru had been there to supervise, so
Amane could mostly relax and eat.
“Ah, Mahiru made this quiche. I made one to give to Itsuki.”
“You’re gonna give him a whole quiche…?”
“It’s a little one, about the size of my palm, so it’s fine. Eh-heh-heh, I
wonder if he’ll be happy with it…?”
Chitose was wearing a big grin, and Mahiru was staring at her with a
heartwarming smile of her own. As long as Chitose wasn’t preoccupied
playing pranks or getting up to some other kind of mischief, she was a pretty
thoughtful girlfriend. Amane thought it was nice she had made something
just for Itsuki.
But she did tend to take things too far, so it could be a little dangerous to
trust her completely.
Amane also smiled a little at the beaming Mahiru, then turned his
attention to the plate that had been set before him. He pressed his hands
together. “All right, let’s eat.”
“Go ahead! Enjoy your meal!”
Chitose looked almost bashful. It was surprisingly endearing, and just for
a moment, Amane was reminded that she was a girl, too, after all.
“…Um, I’m sorry.”

After Chitose left, Mahiru suddenly apologized.

Amane wasn’t sure why she was apologizing, and he looked with wide
eyes at Mahiru sitting beside him. She had her legs drawn in and was
fidgeting restlessly, wearing a guilty expression.
“…Sorry about the pranks.”
“Pranks?”
“Chitose didn’t do anything to you, but…well, I did.”
“Huh, you did?”
He was certain Chitose had said she hadn’t done anything when he
interrogated her, and Mahiru had also confirmed that Chitose hadn’t. But
Mahiru hadn’t said a single word about whether she herself had been up to no
good.
Amane had never even considered that Mahiru might do something to him
and had automatically excluded her from suspicion, but apparently she had
been busy.
She looked guilty, like she wanted to run away at any moment.
“What did you do?”
“Well, I squished your cheeks…”
“…Does that really qualify as a prank?”
“A-and then I stared at your sleeping face, and I stroked your hair.”
“Well, you do like doing that.”
“…Y-yes.”
“So…was that all?”
“…Yes.”
The way she was acting, she seemed remorseful, but Amane wanted to
joke that those things were hardly pranks. What Mahiru had done was less of
a prank and more like normal physical intimacy. If that was a prank, then that
would mean Amane had also been messing with Mahiru, so he hoped she
didn’t think of it that way.
“I’m not really mad, you know. Like, as long as you were having fun, I
guess it’s fine; it was just careless of me to fall asleep in front of other
people.”
“Th-thank you…”
“I mean, I don’t think it would be much fun to look at this ugly mug,
but…”
“…You looked cute, you know?”
“You’re just about the only person who would say a guy like me looked

cute.”
“That’s not true. Chitose said so!”
“She was definitely making fun of me…”
In Chitose’s case, she obviously said he looked cute because she thought
it was funny. That was a different matter than Mahiru finding him cute. As a
rule, nobody should ever take Chitose too seriously, he thought.
“…You really were cute.”
“Really?”
“I played with your cheeks a lot…”
“I wonder, is it that much fun to poke at a guy’s cheeks?”
“It’s more fun than you realize.”
Based on his own body, Amane thought guys’ cheeks would be very stiff
compared to girls’ and therefore not that much fun to poke or play with. He
didn’t understand what Mahiru found so great about it, but if it was the very
act of poking that she found enjoyable, then he supposed he shouldn’t
complain.
“Well, it’s not like I can’t relate,” he said. “Your cheeks also feel nice to
poke at.”
He had played the same “prank” on Mahiru before.
That said, it wouldn’t do to touch her too boldly, so he cautiously, gently
poked her with the tip of his finger.
Mahiru’s cheek was soft and a little squishy and undeniably feminine. She
obviously took very good care of her skin, because it was smooth and
lustrous. Just touching her like this felt amazing. Telling himself that if
Mahiru had touched his face, he should be allowed to touch hers, Amane
gently pinched her pliable cheek.
Mahiru looked up at him with a bit of dissatisfaction, and he knew he’d
better not overdo it, so he stroked the cheek gently with the pad of his finger
to mollify her. He moved gently and carefully, just like he would if he were
petting a kitten.
“…Hmm.”
Before long, the look of dissatisfaction faded and was replaced by a soft
smile that seemed to be hiding something. It was such a sweet expression, he
wondered if the secret ingredient was plenty of honey.
…She looks really relaxed.
He was surprised to see how relaxed Mahiru looked while a boy touched

her like that. Then it occurred to him that Mahiru never let boys touch her,
and he suddenly felt very embarrassed to be receiving such special treatment.
It made him want to bang his head on the back of the sofa.
Trying to put such thoughts out of his mind, Amane reached his hand
under Mahiru’s chin, and this time he really moved his fingers like he was
petting a cat.
“Hyah!” She let out a small yelp. “…Wh-what was that?”
“Practice for when we go to the cat café.”
“What were you thinking? I’m not a cat, I’m a person!”
“It’s because you’re so catlike. But also kind of like a dog and a bunny at
the same time.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Recently, Amane had made the private observation that Mahiru at times
acted like a cat, a dog, and even a rabbit. When he was first getting to know
her, she had been a very wary cat, then as they became closer, she became
friendly like a dog…not exactly the same, but she had definitely warmed up
to him. As for the rabbit…for some reason, Amane had gotten it into his head
that rabbits were lonely creatures, so he had just thrown that one in the mix
for good measure.
Amane was glad she didn’t hate being doted on, since he wanted to do
exactly that. As he scratched under her chin, Mahiru quietly said “The top of
my head would be better,” so he obediently switched to stroking her head.
He decided not to mention that, at times like this, she was more doglike.
“…If I’m a cat and a dog and a bunny… In that case, Amane, you’re a
wolf.”
“Does that mean I attack girls…?”
“N-no, I don’t mean it like that! Wolves seem to care about their
companions a lot. I’ve heard they do anything to protect their pack. Well,
since their packs are usually formed of family members, I guess it’s a little
different, but I say that because you take really good care of the people in
your circle.”
“…Well, I guess you’ve got me there.”
Amane’s circle of friends was pretty small. Small enough that he could
count the people he would call friends on two hands. But he always tried to
do the best he could for those people and treat them well. If she was going to

call that facet of him wolflike, then he wasn’t going to argue.
“B-besides…that’s how I want you to be.”
“That’s how you want me to be?”
“…No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Um, also, your hair is fluffy,
which is why you’re like a wolf.”
“That’s not a trait of wolves.”
Mahiru seemed like she had been about to say something different, but
now she was stroking Amane’s hair, so he didn’t question her and just let her
touch his hair as she pleased.
It was the day after the cooking class, and Mahiru apparently had plans to
hang out with Chitose again, so she departed after preparing Amane’s lunch.
Amane would have been perfectly capable of feeding himself without her
help, but she went to all the trouble of cooking for him, so he wasn’t about to
complain.
He saw her off as she left his apartment, looking somewhat restless, then
sighed as he wondered how he should spend his free time.
It was currently just past one thirty. Mahiru had gone out, and it wasn’t a
bad time for going out, but he didn’t really feel like it since he had nothing in
particular planned. If he’d had plans to hang out with someone, he could have
probably summoned the willpower to leave the apartment, but if no one
waiting for him, then he figured he didn’t need to go to the trouble.
That left him with the question of what to do with his day. There weren’t
that many ways he could kill time at home.
His most frequent pastimes were games and comics, but he had cleared all
the scenarios in his role-playing games and even finished all the speedruns,
and it wasn’t all that interesting to play party games by himself.
So he was down to comics and novels, but Amane didn’t typically keep a
lot of books around, and he had already read the ones he had several times
over and knew all the plots. Amane was a fast reader anyway, so he would
probably breeze through a whole comic book series in an hour.
Amane was at a loss for what else he could do. For the moment, he went
into his bedroom and opened the textbook that was lying on his desk.
Chitose would look so confused if she could see me now.
Amane didn’t have much to do, and they did have homework even during

Golden Week. And after Golden Week, midterm exams were waiting for
them. He actually enjoyed studying a fair bit, so he figured it might be a good
way to spend his day if he didn’t have any other ideas.
One way or another, he had to get through their assigned homework, and
he wanted to be able to enjoy tomorrow’s outing without having it in the back
of his mind the whole time. So he decided it was best to go ahead and get his
academic obligations out of the way.
Amane was naturally a serious student, and he pulled himself up to his
desk, mechanical pencil in hand, to complete his schoolwork.
When he next noticed the time again, it was already past six o’clock.
Whenever Amane was seriously concentrating, he tended to tune
everything else out. As he left his bedroom, rolling his shoulders around to
loosen up his stiff body, he smiled at how the sunbeams that were filtering
through the window had changed their angle bit by bit.
He could see the kitchen as soon as he was out in the hallway, and sure
enough, there was Mahiru in her apron. She hadn’t been there the last time
he’d left his room to take a break.
Apparently, she had returned from her outing.
He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing that he had been so focused he
hadn’t even noticed the sound of the door unlocking in the entryway, but he
knew it wasn’t good that he hadn’t come out to greet her.
“Welcome back. Sorry I didn’t greet you.”
“No, it’s fine… I didn’t call out to you, either. I thought you were
probably busy with something in your room.”
“I was doing homework.”
He had made plenty of progress in the quiet apartment, but he might have
been studying too long, because his body was awfully stiff. He regretted not
changing his posture a little more often while reading.
He did some light stretching while they talked, and Mahiru let out a small
giggle.
“You’re very studious.”
“I’m the type who likes to get my work done ahead of time so I can enjoy
myself.”
“I’m much the same. Though I prefer to do my studying intermittently.”

“You’re even more serious about schoolwork than I am.”
Generally speaking, Amane was also the type to study on and off and
steadily etch things into his memory by repetition, but he wasn’t as
scrupulous and methodical as Mahiru.
Incidentally, he had learned over the last summer break that Itsuki would
finish his work first and then really play around, while Chitose would play
first and then drown in her own tears of regret, so he expected the latter half
of summer vacation this year to be rough going.
“Once you make a habit of it, it’s really not that much trouble,” Mahiru
explained. “Once it becomes second nature, you don’t think anything of it.”
“Impressive. I’ve got to put in some more work, until it becomes second
nature.”
Most people assumed that Mahiru was some kind of prodigy, a genius
blessed with a naturally brilliant mind. Those people didn’t know how hard
she worked. Amane would never deny that she was very smart, but he knew
that, above all else, she was a hard worker first and foremost.
She didn’t show it much on the surface, but behind the scenes, she never
failed to put in the effort. That was why her grades and her looks and her
athletics were all outstanding.
Amane knew how hard Mahiru worked, so he recognized and admired her
efforts and didn’t begrudge her successes. Mahiru’s abilities were earned
through being disciplined, and anyone who wanted the same for themselves
would have to put in the same labor. Amane doubted he would ever be able
to reach Mahiru’s level, but as someone who always wanted to improve his
grades, he admired her.
Mahiru was frowning like something had tickled her. “Flattery will get
you nowhere, mister. At best, you might get pudding after dinner.”
“Oh, then should I praise you more?”
“How calculated.”
Mahiru smiled like something was funny. Amane gave her a sidelong
glance, but when he opened the refrigerator, he realized there really was
pudding inside. It was store-bought, but it came from the patisserie that
Chitose liked so much, and it was one of Amane’s favorites, too. Though
Mahiru’s handmade pudding was the best, this was also sure to be delicious.
A surge of happiness bubbled up within him.
Mahiru giggled when she saw Amane’s face light up all of a sudden, so he

came back to his senses and felt a bit embarrassed.
“You really do love eggs, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
There was no need to hide it in front of Mahiru, who already had a
thorough knowledge of his culinary preferences, so he meekly nodded in
agreement.
Suddenly, Mahiru froze in place, still stiffly holding a potato she had just
finished washing. Amane tried to look at her face to see what was the matter,
but she quickly turned away.
“Mahiru?”
“…It’s nothing. More importantly, if you’re not going to help, I
recommend you leave the kitchen.”
“So harsh all of a sudden. I actually came in here intending to help,
but…”
Still, he wasn’t going to make Mahiru do all the work alone. Besides, a
little light activity would be just perfect for waking up his stiff limbs.
Amane grabbed his apron from the kitchen rack and put it on. Mahiru
wordlessly put several washed potatoes in a bowl and handed it to him along
with a peeler. She didn’t look him in the eye the whole time.
“By the way, what are we going to make with these potatoes?”
“…I was planning to make potato salad, but now they’re going to be
ingredients for a frittata.”
“Isn’t that a pretty big change?”
“It’s fine. I’m in charge of the kitchen. You just need to follow what I
say.”
“I—I don’t really get it, but you make a good point.”
This was Amane’s kitchen, but Mahiru was in charge of the cooking, so
this kitchen was actually under Mahiru’s control. After all, Amane didn’t
know nearly as much about culinary matters as she did, so he was better off
obediently following her lead.
Mahiru was obviously not in a good mood, and Amane wondered about
her cold tone as he washed his hands and began to peel the potatoes.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about injuring himself with a peeler.
Mahiru, meanwhile, had started her own tasks. It seemed like the change
in menu had been pretty sudden, but Mahiru knew what was in the
refrigerator best anyway, so Amane was sure there was no problem.

“…So what did you do today?”
The kitchen was spacious enough that the two of them could work side by
side, and he wouldn’t have minded working in silence, but Amane’s task
wasn’t that hard, so he tried to strike up a conversation.
Mahiru’s whole body twitched.
“Eh…um, well… I—I got her advice on something, I guess.”
“Oh, was something giving you trouble? Did you sort it out?”
Honestly, Amane hoped Mahiru would come to him if she ever had a
problem. But there were probably a lot of issues only another girl would fully
understand, so he wasn’t about to complain or anything.
“Y-yeah, sort of. I’ll know for sure in a few days.”
“Hmm. That’s good, then.”
If she had solved her problem, then Amane had nothing further to say, and
he promptly shut his mouth, knowing it would be bad to pry.
Mahiru tugged nervously at her apron.
“…Amane?”
“Hmm?”
“Uh, um, Amane… Which style do you like better, simple and clean or
more mature?” Her eyelashes fluttered as she peered at him with a troubling
expression.
He didn’t ask why she was suddenly asking him such a question. He
figured she must be trying to decide what kind of look was best for their
outing tomorrow or something.
“I think it’s best when the style suits the person wearing it,” he finally
answered.
“I’m asking about your preferences.”
“I don’t know what to say. It’s nice to see a woman in something that
really suits her, but I think everyone should just wear what they feel
comfortable in.”
“…I’m asking about your preferences.”
“Uh…”
Amane really thought it was best for Mahiru to wear whatever she liked,
but she didn’t seem content to take that as his final answer.
“I really think either style is fine. A simple look suits your personality and
looks cute, and a sophisticated look brings out your beauty more. I think
either one looks great on you. There’s something to like about each of them,

but I can’t say which look I like better unless I see the actual outfits.”
“…Y-you really do just come out and say things like that pretty bluntly,
don’t you? Agh…”
“I mean, you asked. Hmm, I guess go with the simple look.”
He was getting the feeling that she wanted him to come out and pick one,
so he obliged.
Mahiru turned away from him. “All right, I’ll do that,” she answered. “I’ll
do my best to put together a look that will astonish even the calm and
collected Amane.”
“That seems like it won’t end up being very simple…”
“Fine, I’ll wear something that will make you lose your mind.”
“Don’t go too far; I won’t know what to do.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
Mahiru was being awfully forward today, but it was still adorable, just in
a different way. Amane chuckled to himself and continued peeling potato
skins.

“Good morning, Amane.”
Most people would start an outing by meeting up somewhere, but Mahiru
met him at his apartment. Since she lived next door, they didn’t need to go to
the trouble of arranging a meeting place. Instead, Mahiru came directly to his
door.
She certainly did look different.
“Morning… Oh, you put your hair up today.”
“I thought it would get in the way if we’re going to be playing with cats.
How do you like it?”
Mahiru usually wore her long hair down, but today it was braided and
gathered up in a bun. It looked like a more complex version of what she did
with it when she was cooking.
“Yeah, it looks good.”
“It’s nice of you to say so, but… W-well…if you’re going to laugh, just
laugh, okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“…You think it looks silly, don’t you?”
Mahiru was squeezing her arms tightly over her chest. Her outfit showed a
little bit more skin than usual.
Putting it that way might make it seem like she was wearing a very

exposing outfit, but her top was a chiffon blouse with an open collar, and the
pure-white skin of her neck was peeking out, which just gave the illusion of
more exposure.
The blouse had a long lantern sleeve with slits in the sides and lace panels
that ran along the length so her upper arms were partially hidden but still
showed through. It was subtly enticing.
Of course, she had an undershirt on, so it wasn’t like he was at risk of
seeing anything if he looked at her from above, but somehow he found the
look both tidy and alluring in the way it enhanced her femininity.
On the bottom she was wearing skinny jeans, perhaps because she was
preparing to play with cats at the café. The jeans fit tightly to her figure,
hugging her slender legs.
On her wrist she wore the flower bracelet Amane had given her as a
present. He remembered her saying she was going to wear it with care, and
he felt a warmth in his chest.
“I don’t think you look silly. In fact, I think you look even prettier than
usual.”
“Well, don’t you look the part today? Your parents must have raised you
to be a proper gentleman.”
“Dad always told me that you ought to compliment a girl when she’s all
dressed up… Of course, it’s not just flattery, you know.”
“…I’ll believe you.”
Mahiru’s face flushed slightly red, and she held her bag tight. Amane
smiled wryly and almost patted her head, but he stopped himself. He
expected she wouldn’t be pleased if he messed up her elaborate hairdo before
they even started their outing.
Mahiru blinked like she’d been expecting it but seemed to understand he
was being considerate of her hair, and so she smiled at him. She did give
Amane’s hand a bit of a wary look, though.
“…Amane, recently you’ve been a little obsessed with patting my head,
haven’t you?”
“If you don’t like it, I’ll stop. I know I shouldn’t touch you too
excessively.”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant… I, um, I want to be able to play with your
hair, too, when I want to.”
“That’s fine; I don’t mind, but you can’t do it now. I’ve got wax in it.”

Amane had donned his “mystery man” outfit to go out with Mahiru,
taking the time to carefully arrange his hair. His outfit choice was relaxed,
consisting of a denim jacket over a white V-neck shirt plus some slim black
trousers. It was obviously not as much effort as Mahiru had gone to, but
Amane was used to looking like a slob next to her, and this time he’d at least
tried.
“…So I can touch your hair?”
“I don’t really mind, but for today, let’s make do with petting cats.”
“I—I didn’t mean I wanted to do it right now, you know. I can do it later,
I guess…”
“I’ve been doing it to you, so it’s only natural that you should get a
chance. Fair turnabout and all.”
He didn’t particularly dislike it when Mahiru touched his hair… If
anything, it felt really nice, and if Mahiru enjoyed it, he was happy to let her
continue. Mahiru had seemed flustered at first by Amane agreeing so easily,
but now she was finally wearing a happy smile.
“…Okay, then we’re agreed: I’ll do it later. For now, let’s go pet lots of
cats.”
“Sure.”
“Off we go, then?”
“Mm.”
Thinking that setting out together from the same apartment felt a little
embarrassing somehow, Amane left his place with Mahiru.
As they walked side by side, the thought occurred to Amane to extend his
hand to her.
“Here, have a hand,” he said lightheartedly.
Mahiru flushed faintly and smiled as she squeezed his hand.
He had done a degree of preliminary investigation, but when they actually

entered the cat café, it was much more spacious than Amane had imagined.
After the two had signed in and used hand sanitizer, they stepped into the
main café area. As expected, they could see cats everywhere, walking around
or curled into balls or playing with other patrons.
“Wow… It’s pretty big. And clean.”
The café offered food and drinks, so perhaps it was to be expected, but the

cleanliness of the place still surprised him. He could barely smell any of the
scents characteristic of many places where animals made their home. In fact,
it was nearly odorless.
He had looked at the reviews online, and this seemed to be a cat café that
was prized for its hygiene and took good care of its cats. It was a popular
place, but to keep the cats from getting stressed, it had only a few seats.
There were also many hideouts for the cats, and in the end, the café seemed
to be set up less for touching the cats than for sharing the space with them.
This café had a time-limit system, and the fees were high, but it was such
a beautiful and calm space that he didn’t mind paying at all.
“Whoa…cats… Look, Amane, they’re all so cute!”
There were cats with the other customers, so Mahiru spoke in a quiet
voice, but he could hear her eager excitement as she tugged on his sleeve.
There were all sorts of cats around, and Mahiru’s eyes sparkled as she looked
at them eagerly.
The topic of animals had never really come up, but apparently she really
liked cats. She was so excited, Amane could feel his mouth curling into a
smile.
“You’re right; they’re really cute.”
“So cute!” Mahiru didn’t seem to realize how cute she was being herself
as she looked at the profile chart she had received from the receptionist,
listing the cats’ names and breeds along with photos. She pointed to the
Siamese cat beside her. “Ah, that one’s name is Silky!”
Only the fur on its tail and around its face was black, while the rest of the
coat on its long, slender body was a dazzling white. It had characteristic blue
eyes and exuded an air of nobility.
Mahiru was itching to pet it, but suddenly touching the cats was
prohibited, so she kept an eye on it from the side as she slowly brought her
fingers closer to its nose and let it sniff her.
The cat’s nose twitched.
She didn’t say it out loud, but Mahiru clearly thought even that was cute,
so she definitely seemed to like cats a lot.
But after getting a full sniff of Mahiru’s scent, Silky abruptly and
gracefully dashed away.
Mahiru was clearly disheartened.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean she hates you; I think she was just done

saying hello.”
“R-right, I suppose that’s fair…”
“Come on, I think we should let the cats take their time and get used to us.
Let’s go have a seat for now, okay?”
Mahiru stood back up, he took her hand, and they sat down on an open
sofa. Once there, Amane finally took a slow look around the whole room and
saw that there certainly were a lot of types of cats.
The cat from a moment ago had been a Siamese, but there were American
shorthairs, Russian blues, munchkins, Bengals, and even more exotic breeds
—cats with great individuality here, there, and everywhere.
At the next seat over, a short distance from them, an American shorthair
was curled up on the table, and the girl sitting there was gently stroking it.
“So cute…”
Mahiru was looking at the other customers without bothering to disguise
the envy in her eyes. Amane smiled wryly and looked over the menu.
The food and drink offerings at this café were supposed to be delicious.
The top recommendation seemed to be a latte with a cat design on top,
formed out of the milk foam. Apparently, the staff was talented at making
latte art, and many people had uploaded pictures.
Amane left Mahiru to her own devices for a moment, as she was staring at
a cat loitering nearby, and he called the waiter over and ordered the signature
latte art.
“I went ahead and ordered you the same thing as me, is that all right?” he
asked when he had finished.
“Huh? Ah yes, that’s fine.”
As expected, Mahiru was so preoccupied with the cats that she hadn’t
even noticed him ordering. Mahiru was the type who could drink coffee or
tea, so since this was a special outing, he decided to keep the order a secret
and give her a little surprise.
After a short while, their order was brought over. Slowly, so as not to
destroy the latte art, their smiling waiter set the cups down on the table,
bowed, and left. Mahiru couldn’t take her eyes off the latte art atop her cup.
“Is this okay?”
“Y-yes, it’s super cute…”
“I’m glad.”
On Mahiru’s drink, the milk foam had been poured with great care to

form a cat that was curled up asleep, its coat pattern and expression drawn
with cocoa powder. In Amane’s cup, they had drawn a cat leaning against the
rim. The cute, dainty depictions of the cats made it easy to understand why
the café had become so popular.
Perhaps to preserve the excitement, Mahiru was taking photos with her
smartphone and looking quite pleased, but then for some reason her
expression turned. “It’s so cute I can’t drink it…,” she muttered.
She sounded so serious. Amane couldn’t help but laugh.
“D-don’t laugh at me, please.”
“It’s just—you’re so troubled over something so adorable.”
“B-but…it would be such a waste to destroy it when there’s such a cute
little cat…”
“But it would be even more of a waste not to drink it.”
“Oh no.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand Mahiru’s feelings, but the foam would
collapse anyway even if she left it alone, and he presumed that the person
who made the coffee would probably be happier if she drank it before it got
cold.
After sufficiently appreciating his own latte cat, Amane raised his cup
without hesitation. He almost laughed again when he heard a murmur of
sadness from beside him, but somehow he contained it enough to slowly sip
his caffe latte.
Mahiru looked so downhearted that he tried his best to drink without
disturbing the cat too much. The latte itself was delicious. The combination
of the deep coffee flavor and the rich milk was just perfect. And it wasn’t too
sweet, so Amane, who drank his coffee black, didn’t mind it.
“Mm, it’s good.”
When he took a break from drinking and made this comment, Mahiru
groaned slightly but brought her cup to her lips with some hesitation.
She looked funny and cute drinking her latte and carefully trying to not
destroy the cat, and Amane’s lips must have curled into an unintentional
smile.
“I—I feel like you’re laughing at me, but—”
“You’re imagining things. Is it good?”
“Yes, it is, of course.”
When Amane looked at Mahiru once she had pulled her mouth away from

the cup and set it back down, he couldn’t control himself, and his shoulders
shook with laughter.
“Wh-why are you laughing?”
“Well, you have a white moustache.”
She must have failed to pay attention to the rest of the milk foam in her
efforts to keep the cat intact, for Mahiru’s upper lip was now decorated with a
white moustache reminiscent of Santa Claus.
She looked so extremely cute that he instinctively snapped a photo with
his phone.
“Uh, d-did you just take a picture?!”
“Sorry. Do you want me to delete it?”
“W-were you planning on keeping a record of such a shameful face?”
“You looked cute, so I just took it.”
When he said that, Mahiru pressed her lips together tightly, and her face
flushed red. In a quiet voice, she grumbled, “…You can have the one photo.”
She was still wearing the white moustache as she told him that, so Amane
felt his chest growing warm as he held back a laugh and nodded in
agreement.
“…Ah!”
Around the time they finished drinking their caffe lattes decorated with
foam art, one of the cats jumped up on Amane’s lap.
It was the American shorthair that had been at the neighboring seat earlier.
After checking out the profile sheet, they saw that it said CACAO, FEMALE.
Amane wasn’t sure whether she was friendly or just shameless, but she
had suddenly gotten up on his lap, which he found perplexing. He was fully
aware that cats did as they pleased, but he was slightly unsettled to be
approached so suddenly.
The warmth in his lap was more profound than he had expected, as the cat
confidently curled up and settled in as if to say this was her spot.
“This one is really friendly.”
He looked over at Mahiru as the cat sniffed at his fingers and thought she
seemed incredibly jealous.
Once Cacao had finished sniffing to her heart’s content, she nuzzled her
face into Amane’s palm, so he figured she was asking him to pet her and

started scratching her under her chin like he had practiced on Mahiru.
He could tell from the vibration and the sound that she was purring.
Feeling relaxed by the presence of the cute cat, Amane ruffled the fur
under her chin as he petted her, but he felt jealous eyes on him from Mahiru
sitting next to him and chuckled to himself again.
“Mahiru, put out your hand.”
“Huh? R-right.”
She obediently stretched out her hand, so Amane removed his own hand
from Cacao and, in its place, put Mahiru’s palm near Cacao’s face.
This cat is probably friendly and used to humans, so she ought to allow
herself to be petted after a proper greeting.
Cacao sniffed at Mahiru’s hand, then let out a somewhat listless meeeow
and rubbed her face against Mahiru’s palm. Mahiru’s eyes sparkled,
overcome with emotion.

“Amane, she let me pet her!”
Mahiru smiled gleefully at Amane as she finally got to pet a cat, stroking
the fur in the right direction.
Perhaps a sign of how carefully the cats were looked after, Cacao’s fur
was shiny and incredibly soft. She didn’t smell bad, either, and had just a
faint hint of cat odor. She was obviously treasured dearly by the staff.
All the cats had nice coats and looked healthy, and there weren’t any that
were extremely fat or too thin. And all the lively cats were free to move about
as they pleased.
“…So cute.”
“They really are, aren’t they? …I’m jealous of you, Amane…”
“How about you call Cacao over to you? Tell her to come sit in your lap.”
The cats couldn’t understand words, but gestures seemed to communicate
surprisingly well.
As a test, Mahiru patted her lap and called “Come here,” and Cacao
meowed once, then slowly moved over to sit on the offered spot.
Mahiru’s expression of excitement at that moment was so full of joy that
just seeing it was enough to make Amane happy, too.
“Look, she sat on me!”
“That’s great. Hey, she wants you to pet her.”
Cacao must have preferred Mahiru’s soft lap over Amane’s hard one, for
she meowed even louder than before and pushed her face into Mahiru’s palm.
Smiling at the beaming Mahiru, who was rubbing the cat to her heart’s
content, Amane captured the moment with his smartphone.
“Is this photo all right?”
“…This one’s okay,” Mahiru said as she stroked Cacao.
Amane kept smiling at her and stood up.
Along the wall were bookshelves filled with magazines and comics, so he
intended to bring several of them back to the table.
This place was called a cat café, but that didn’t mean one would
constantly be playing with cats. His main goal was to spend a comfortable
time in a space where there were cats around, so relaxing with some reading
material was also an option.
While Mahiru was absorbed in petting Cacao, Amane chose something to
read from the shelves without much thought. That was when he noticed that
Silky, the cat that had greeted Mahiru when they first came in, was at his feet.

He crouched down and put his index finger near her nose, and as
expected, she sniffed him in greeting.
This gesture was quite adorable, so his cheeks softened into another smile
as he watched her fondly. When she was done smelling him, Silky lifted a
front paw and leaned against him, as if she was going to leap into his arms.
Silky meowed in a higher pitch than Cacao and touched him again, so
Amane sat cross-legged on the floor.
The cat had a high-class aura but seemed to be comfortable around
people, and she was allowing him to pet her. When he tried stroking her, she
put on a very satisfied expression.
She was purring and nuzzling him, so he took that as a sign that she
wanted him to pet her more. In accordance with the wishes of the noble Lady
Silky, he gently and carefully stroked her back.
There was a cat at Itsuki’s house, so he understood how to do the petting.
He watched Silky carefully and adjusted his motions to keep her happy and
docile.
So cute…
He could feel her purring, and another gentle smile soon slipped onto his
lips. At first, she had behaved a bit coldly, so he hadn’t expected her to be so
permissive and fawning.
Now that I think about it, she’s kind of like Mahiru.
Mahiru had also been cold and standoffish at first, but once she let her
guard down, she started gazing at him with trust in her eyes, fawning over
him, and getting comfortable. In that way, she had reminded him of a cat.
Inwardly bestowing Silky with the moniker Angel Two, Amane enjoyed
petting her. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a camera shutter. He looked up
and saw that Mahiru had approached without him noticing and taken a
picture with her smartphone.
“I thought you were taking a while… So you made friends with Silky,
huh?”
“I don’t know why, but she came over to see me.”
“You’re so stingy… I want to pet her, too…”
“What happened to Cacao?”
“Cats have a mind of their own…”
Apparently, the cat had gone off somewhere.
He looked around the café and saw Cacao curled up on the second story

of a cat tower. Just a moment ago, she had been sitting with Mahiru, but she
must have changed her mind.
“Is Silky your favorite, Amane?”
“Well, I haven’t petted all of them yet to really start comparing… But
yeah, she kind of resembles you, so I’d like to keep petting her.”
“Resembles me?”
“I mean, you were pretty standoffish at first, kind of cold and blunt, but
once you decided you liked me, you warmed up quickly.”
Sure, it was catlike for her to let her guard down and fawn on him, but he
thought that the way she trusted him and relished his attention was more
doglike, so he thought of her as a cross between a cat and dog.
Mahiru didn’t seem to realize just how badly she was spoiling him, which
made Amane feel happy yet embarrassed at the same time.
“…I am not a cat. Besides, it’s not like I get attached to just anyone.”
“Well, that’s because you’re very wary.”
“…You haven’t been thinking of me as a cat?”
“I haven’t, I haven’t,” he answered, stroking the cat in his lap the same
way he always patted Mahiru. “Right?” he sought Silky’s agreement.
Either she was good at reading the room, or it was just a coincidence, but
Silky meowed, right on cue so even Mahiru couldn’t press the matter any
further.
But Mahiru looked at him with a fairly dissatisfied expression, so Amane
used his unoccupied left hand to stroke Mahiru’s head.
“…So you do think of me as a cat.”
“Sort of. Here, how about you play with Silky? It looks like they’ll lend
you some toys if you go to the front desk.”
“You’re not getting out of this that easily.”
“…So you don’t want to play with her, then?” he asked as he teased the
cat.
Mahiru pouted slightly and grumbled “You don’t play fair, Amane,” then
headed for the front desk to borrow some cat toys.
Amane had been planning to switch places with her and go to the desk
himself, so he watched her with wide eyes, then tilted his head in confusion
as he recalled Mahiru’s expression, which had been a little sulky for some
reason.
“What does that mean, I don’t play fair? …Is she talking about playing

with Silky?” He muttered as he pondered the reason for Mahiru’s sour
expression, but the cat just meowed as if to say “How should I know?” and
nestled its head in his palm again.
Ultimately, the reason for Mahiru’s pouting wasn’t really clear, but as she
played with the cats, her mood quickly improved, and she was soon smiling
at him again.
After a certain point, Mahiru stopped paying attention to Amane and
focused entirely on the cats. He smiled wryly as he watched her play, but for
some reason, the cats kept settling into Amane’s lap.
Mahiru saw this and started sulking again, but Silky, as if to say “There’s
no helping it,” moved over to sit on Mahiru’s thighs, and all was well again.
There must have been something about Amane that the cats appreciated,
because as he was petting them, even though he had no treats to give, other
cats continued to swarm around him.
Eventually, though, they reached the end of their allotted time in the café.
The two of them used lint rollers to remove cat hair from their clothes and
washed their hands, and as Amane finished, Mahiru went to get the bill, then
looked at him with dissatisfaction.
“Why are you making that face?” he asked.
“You didn’t have to go to the trouble of doing that.”
“It’s no trouble. It’s for my own satisfaction, so don’t worry about it.”
Amane had gone ahead and paid for everything already, so she didn’t have to.
“Actually, think of it as my way of saying thanks for coming with me to a cat
café, a place I never would have gone into alone. Okay?”
“…But—”
“Let me treat you in situations like this. If you don’t agree, then… All
right, how about coming with me again to make it even?”
“…I can’t do anything but agree to that, can I?”
“Well, I’m for this plan, too, so it’s a win-win. No problem!”
Mahiru pressed her lips together tightly and nudged Amane’s upper arm,
then squeezed Amane’s hand again.
Amane and Mahiru had lunch at a restaurant they had picked out in advance,
one with a good reputation, before heading to the shopping mall. It was a
popular restaurant, and as expected, the food was tasty, just like the reviews

reported. Perhaps it was a simple matter of opinion, but Amane still thought
Mahiru’s cooking edged out ahead, confirming once more that hers was the
very best.
Seeing as how it was Golden Week, there were quite a few more
customers in the mall than there might have been on a typical weekday, so
gripping tightly onto Mahiru’s hand, Amane stopped beside a wall so they
could figure out where they wanted to go before diving into the crowds.
“So then, what will we do in the mall? You mentioned shopping, but is
there something in particular you want to buy?”
“N-nothing specific, but um, I thought it sounded fun to have a look
around together… I-is that all right?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’m good with window-shopping.”
At home, he had often been dragged around by his mother, and his family
would also sometimes go out shopping, so he had built up a tolerance to an
activity that some found fairly agonizing.
Besides, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a look at some things that Mahiru
wanted to see.
“Where do you want to start? There are all sorts of shops—variety goods,
clothes, interior decorating…”
This enormous shopping complex had an almost uncountable number of
clothing and accessory stores, restaurants, variety shops, and entertainment
facilities all crammed in wall-to-wall; so many stores over such a wide area
that they couldn’t possibly see it all in one day. Since it would be impossible
to look around the entire mall, he had to get her to provide at least some
direction.
“All right… Can we start with clothes?”
“Sure. You buying a new outfit?”
“I want to buy something, if there’s anything good. They’ve got this
summer’s styles out, so I’d like to get some new clothes.”
“Summer, huh…? That came quickly.”
The sweaty season was about to start, but even so, it was still the time of
year when the sunlight was warm and cheerful, so he thought it was a bit
hasty to switch over to summer clothes just yet. The stores, of course, had to
anticipate the approaching season, but still, Amane couldn’t shake the
springtime feeling.
“This summer… Uh, you’ll be coming home with me…will you?”

“Ah y-yes. If it’s all right with you and your parents, that is.” She seemed
to remember the earlier conversation about coming with him to his parents’
home the next time he went, and she nodded eagerly.
“I asked my mom once more after we talked, and she said you’re
definitely welcome. Actually, she insisted I bring you.”
His parents would probably agree to let her stay even if he didn’t check
with them first, but they would have to get a room ready and everything, so
he had made sure to ask ahead, and they’d promised to give her a warm
welcome.
He was certain to hear complaints from his mother if he showed up
without her, so he was grateful for Mahiru’s enthusiasm.
“Well, my hometown’s not that impressive, you know. Although, I guess
there’s plenty to do.”
“Really?”
“Well, my mother never had trouble finding a new place to drag me.
There’s a shopping mall like this one, a ridiculously huge wilderness park, a
stupidly large water park, just general stuff like that.”
Amane’s hometown was in a nice, central location, not too urban and not
too rural, so it was a place where people wouldn’t get bored in the summer or
winter. Far from it, there were so many things to do that it was a distinct
danger to be dragged around from place to place and not have any time to be
alone.
The water park would be open in the summer, so it would feel really nice
to go on the slides and swim around and relax. There was also a large water
park in the area where they were living now, so they could probably also go
swim there right after the start of summer vacation.
Amane wasn’t especially good at sports, but he didn’t have anything
against being active. He liked to swim, so it would probably be nice to go by
himself, too. There was no way that he could tell Mahiru he’d like to go to
the pool with her, because the invitation would sound too much like he had
an obvious ulterior motive.
“Swimming is optional at our school, so if you don’t take it, you don’t get
the chance to swim, so it might be nice to go swimming. If you want to, you
could go with my mom… Mahiru?”
“Uh, no, it’s nothing…”
“Ah, don’t worry. I’m not thinking that I want to see you in a swimsuit or

anything rude like that.”
“I d-didn’t think you were. A p-pool, huh?”
“Is there something wrong with that?”
Amane always thought of swimming pools in the summertime, and not in
a weird way or anything, but Mahiru shook her head with slightly stiff
movements.
“W-well…umm…”
“Hmm?”
“A-as long as I don’t have to swim, um…I could consider going…”
“…Is it possible that you don’t know how to swim?”
She blatantly refused to meet his eyes. Apparently, he had been right on
the money.
“…I honestly thought you could do literally anything.”
“O-of course I can’t do everything. Swimming is optional, so I thought I
could get by without telling anyone.”
Her face was turning redder by the second. She was obviously
embarrassed.
“I don’t know what to say; I didn’t expect that…”
“Th-that’s enough about swimming already, isn’t it? Come on, let’s go.”
Mahiru didn’t seem to want him to dwell on the fact that she couldn’t
swim, and with a very red face, she tugged at his hand. Well, not exactly
tugged—she pressed her body against his arm and squeezed it tightly. It was
clear she was trying to push him to get started with their window-shopping
because she wanted to avoid the topic, but she couldn’t find any traction.
All the fabric on the clothes in the shops was more lightweight, to match
the changing seasons as the weather gradually got warmer. The chiffon
blouse Mahiru had on that day, for example, was very light and thin, and it
had a wide collar, exposing much of her neck and shoulders. And Amane
discovered at this moment that he was at just the right angle to see directly
down the front of her undershirt.
But he had a feeling that if he pointed that out right now, she would run
away in a huff, so instead he kept his mouth shut and gently extracted his arm
from Mahiru’s grasp, then firmly took her by the hand.
Frankly, he wouldn’t have minded being able to enjoy the view for a little
while longer, but his feelings of guilt took over and internally he derided
himself for being a spineless loser.

“I hear you, I hear you. Don’t run; you’ll fall.”
“…I’m not a child.”
Mahiru thankfully turned away, apparently unaware of Amane’s agitation,
and Amane, too, turned to look outside, hoping to escape her gaze for a bit.
Desperately trying to drive the lingering feeling of that softness pressing
up against his arm out of his mind, Amane sighed quietly enough that Mahiru
couldn’t hear.
Amane gazed down the long row of shops as Mahiru tugged him along by the
hand, but once again, all he could think about was how much attention she
attracted.
She possessed a simple and clean beauty that befitted her nickname of
“the angel.” But right now, Mahiru was exuding an aura of carefree joy that
made him want to wrap his arms around her.
In angel mode, Mahiru had the beauty and ephemerality of a painting and
made onlookers feel like she must not be touched or interfered with.
However, that was a fragile, artificial kind of beauty, and Amane knew it
wasn’t who she really was. The girl holding his hand was wearing a genuine,
carefree smile and brimming with life. Without her even saying a word, he
could tell from her expression and the way she held his hand, and even the
way she walked, that she was having a lot of fun.
Her usual restrained smile was beautiful, too, but he thought she looked
much cuter when she let her feelings show on her face and smiled with her
whole being, rather than keeping it all bottled up.
“…Is something the matter?” she suddenly asked.
“No,” he answered. “I was just thinking that we get a lot of stares when
we’re walking together.”
Both men and women were turning to look at them as they passed, which
really drove home the reality of Mahiru’s beauty.
“…I don’t think I’m the only one they’re looking at, you know?”
“Well, I’m sure some of them are taking the time to size up the guy
escorting you.”
“That’s not what I mean, geez!”
She looked up at him with disappointment but didn’t seem inclined to
elaborate, only squeezing his hand tightly again. He heard her mumble

quietly, “His self-esteem is a real problem…”
But Amane knew that if he was with Mahiru, he would be under strict
scrutiny, and it was also obvious that he could never compare favorably to
her, so this wasn’t really an issue of self-esteem or anything like that, as far
as he was concerned.
“All right, listen up,” Mahiru said. “I’ll try to say this as frankly as
possible so you can understand.”
“Huh? What’s with that voice? Scary.”
“How rude…” She pressed on his nose with her index finger and silenced
him. “This is your own fault, you know?”
But instead of pouting, Mahiru wore a teasing smile as she repeatedly
poked at Amane’s nose, then pulled away once satisfied and tugged on
Amane’s hand. Actually, it would be more accurate to say she pressed up
against his arm again.
“…Things would move along a lot faster if you just had a little
confidence,” Mahiru grumbled, putting her forehead against his upper arm.
Amane couldn’t stand it. He had to look away.
…It’s not on purpose; she doesn’t mean it.
Amane was trying not to think about the softness pressed up against him.
He tried to politely open up some distance between them, but Mahiru
clutched his arm as if to tell him not to go anywhere.
He shuddered, thinking that if this was all intentional, she was acting like
quite the little devil. But he was convinced she wasn’t aware of what she was
doing, so he shuddered for a different reason.
If things continued this way, he was going to blow his top, so Amane
somehow turned his conscious mind to other things and took an easy look
around at the area. Exactly when he needed it, he spotted a store lined with
racks of understated clothes that Mahiru might like.
“Hey, the clothes on that mannequin seem like they would suit you. Want
to go take a look?”
He pointed out the shop with his free hand, hoping to divert attention from
the fire currently searing his cheeks, and Mahiru asked, “Are those the sorts
of clothes you like, Amane?” She seemed interested, so their feet naturally
led them toward the shop. “How about this one?”
“Yeah, well, you look good in everything, but something like this does
seems like it would suit you in particular.”

The mannequin was dressed in an off-the-shoulder dress with thin stripes
on a white field. It was summer clothing, so the fabric was fairly thin, and the
shoulders were exposed. It looked cool and comfortable for warm-weather
outings.
This style of clothing looked really good on women who were slender and
had pretty décolletage, so he was sure it would look great on Mahiru. He
mentally dressed her in the outfit as she stood there next to the mannequin
and was immediately able to imagine her looking light and breezy in it. It was
a look that would go well with a straw hat.
“I’ll just go try it on, okay?”
Mahiru picked up one of the same from a rack of dresses hanging next to
the mannequin, as if she had either decided quickly or had always been
planning to try it on.
Amane was a bit taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm. He accepted the
bag she entrusted to him, and she immediately disappeared into the fitting
room.
He waited for Mahiru to change clothes, baffled by her excitement, and
ended up even more baffled because for some reason he kept finding himself
on the receiving end of warm looks from people nearby. It wasn’t just the
store clerk—the other customers were smiling at him pleasantly, which made
Amane extremely uncomfortable.
As he waited for Mahiru, he wished from the bottom of his heart that she
would return soon. Finally, the fitting room curtain opened, and Mahiru
stepped out.
But she hadn’t changed into the dress.
“Welcome back… You didn’t put it on?”
“No, I put it on and checked the size. But… Well, I can’t show it to you
right now, because I don’t have on the right underwear…”
“S-sorry I asked.”
The chiffon blouse she was currently wearing also showed a fair amount
of cleavage, but not as much as an off-the-shoulder dress. It sounded like she
needed to have on different underthings than usual when wearing clothes that
exposed so much shoulder, so she wasn’t ready to immediately show him the
dress.
“But you were kind enough to point out that it would suit me, and I put it
on and liked it, so I’m buying it.”

She took her bag back from him and went to the register with the dress in
her arms, so Amane followed her in a fluster.
He started fishing his wallet out, thinking he ought to pay for it, since he
was the one who said it would suit Mahiru, but she stopped him as she was
already groping around in her own bag.
“You can’t pay. I need to buy this myself and show it off to you.”
“O-oh.”
“Though I won’t be able to wear it until it gets warmer. I’ll hold on to it
until summer. You can look forward to seeing it.”
She looked bashful as she finished paying, and Amane shut his mouth
tight and tried desperately to resist the urge to collapse on the spot.
Dammit, she’s saying such ridiculously cute things. It sounds like she’s
saying she’s going to wear it just for me. My heart can’t take this.
He caught the eye of the store clerk who was taking Mahiru’s payment,
and she smiled at him with a truly friendly expression, so Amane couldn’t do
anything but bite his lip and avert his eyes.
Amane and Mahiru had enjoyed window-shopping together—actually, since

they’d made a purchase, it was more accurate to just call it shopping at this
point—but Amane had temporarily split off from Mahiru and was on his
own.
That was because Mahiru had gone to buy something she wanted to check
out on her own and said she needed to be alone for a bit. This outing had
been Mahiru’s suggestion to begin with, and Amane figured that girls had all
sorts of shopping that they wouldn’t want other people to know about, so he
readily parted ways and went over to a pillar near the mall fountain they’d
designated as a meeting place.
Amane was plenty used to accompanying women on marathon shopping
trips thanks to his mother, and he was also accustomed to waiting for them
when they dragged him around places. At the end of the day, he didn’t dislike
waiting quietly by himself, so he did just that, without the slightest shred of
irritation.
The staring decreased after he split off from Mahiru, which made him a
little more comfortable, and this intermission was just what he needed to give
his overburdened heart a brief rest.

…She’s so adorable and keeps touching me. I’m not sure how much
longer I can hold on…
Mahiru was showing a side of herself she usually held back. She was
joyful and genuine and unspeakably charming.
Mahiru must have been perfectly aware of just how extraordinary her
appearance was, but she also seemed indifferent to her own beauty. Maybe it
was because Amane treated her as a friend and didn’t make a big deal about
it, but she didn’t make a fuss about her looks in front of him, and she let him
see her natural cuteness, smell her sweetness, feel her softness, and so much
more. Amane knew he was extremely lucky to be able to enjoy her company
like that, but he felt too guilty to really appreciate it.
He was racked with shame just remembering it all, but he couldn’t let it
show in public, so he drew his lips in tight and quietly closed his eyes.
All these thoughts were making him restless, so he shook his head slowly
to drive them from his mind.
Suddenly, Amane heard a high-pitched voice from close by. “Um, excuse
me.”
His eyes snapped open at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, and he looked
forward to see two girls smiling at him. They were probably about college
age. At least, they looked older than him. They were dressed stylishly for a
Golden Week outing and smiling at Amane, who had his eyes narrowed
suspiciously.
“Excuse me, are you alone? Do you have some free time?”
He was astonished to hear the girls ask him that.
He would have thought that, with his head hung low, it would have been
obvious he didn’t want to talk to anybody, so it shocked him that these girls
were so bold. It was unfortunate that they seemed to have no eye for quality.
Even as suspicions flickered through Amane’s mind about why these girls
would have gone out of their way to come talk to him, when he wasn’t even
that nicely put together, he knew it would be rude to ignore them entirely, so
he went ahead and looked at them with a bland expression.
“No, I’m waiting for someone.”
He was hoping they would infer the situation from all the women-oriented
brands emblazoned on the many shopping bags Mahiru had left with him, but
the girls didn’t seem to notice. Perhaps the bags didn’t stand out because of
their simple designs.

“I appreciate the invitation, but I’ve got a previous engagement, so—”
“In that case, your friend can come with us, too! We’ll get tea or
something.”
They seemed to have decided that the friend he was waiting for was
another guy.
If he and Mahiru had been dating, he could tell them he was waiting for
his girlfriend and easily turn them away with that one word, but he and
Mahiru weren’t actually dating, and she wasn’t here with him at the moment,
so if he claimed she was his girlfriend, he didn’t know whether she would
quickly back him up when she actually did reappear.
Besides, he had once used that excuse to get her away from a drunk guy,
and Mahiru had told him to stop saying it, so he hesitated to use it again on
his own.
He frowned slightly as he regarded the two girls, figuring he was probably
stuck talking to them until he reunited with Mahiru—then, out of the corner
of his eye, he spied some familiar flaxen hair.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
Several seconds later, swinging her hair gently to the side and
approaching with easy movements, his savior, the angel, appeared.
She seemed to have seen that Amane was in trouble and had come
quickly. Her breathing was a little too fast for having just walked.
Mahiru smiled lightly at Amane, who had been trying to weather the
waves of the girls’ chatter with a stoic face, and practically leaped into his
arms.
By some stroke of luck, he managed to not let it show on his face, but
Amane was startled beyond belief. Mahiru was looking up at him with her
body angled just right so he couldn’t see the girls behind her. He could sense
amazement and dissatisfaction in her eyes and the unspoken question of
“What are you doing?” all of which he recognized as a performance to help
Amane extract himself from the situation.
…She’s making me super nervous; I wish she’d stop.
This was all Amane’s fault—he didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but his
indecision had been mistaken for an invitation to keep chatting him up. And
Mahiru had arrived to rescue him, so he definitely couldn’t complain about
her methods. But he couldn’t deny it was still stressing him out.
Amane joined the charade by gently placing his hand on her back. It was a

very intimate move to show they had a special relationship.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “These nice girls were kind enough to
keep me company, so it didn’t feel like that long.”
“Oh really? Thank you for going to the trouble.”
Mahiru half turned around with a beaming smile, and the girls looked at
her in blank amazement. The boy they had been trying to pick up was
embracing a girl who seemed like his girlfriend. On top of that, she was
incredibly cute.
Mahiru must have realized why the girls were frozen in place, but her
expression was full of good will, as if she had no idea. Amane was awestruck
by her apparent magnanimity. She really did appear grateful, and her smile
was the picture of innocence.
But the girls just stared at them, without moving an inch. Amane smiled
back, trying his best to act casual. “I’m sorry. Like I said before, I have a
prior engagement, so…”
Amane was relieved he’d given them that excuse earlier. He tapped on
Mahiru’s back impatiently, and Mahiru, who was still wearing a divine smile,
entwined her arm with his, seemingly in good spirits.
She was nestled very close to him again, and the breathless feeling in his
chest returned, but he knew he couldn’t allow himself to get flustered now.
Not after Mahiru had gone to the trouble of putting on this act for him. So he
feigned calm and bowed to the girls.
Mahiru followed his lead and bowed, too, then at her urging, they turned
and walked away from the girls.
Once they had turned a corner and checked to make sure they couldn’t be
seen, Amane looked at Mahiru and saw her fake smile disappear.
“What were you doing?” she asked in a tone of voice that was suddenly
flat and detached as she looked up at him.
Without meaning to, Amane chuckled at the suddenness of her
transformation. She was still clinging tightly to him, but her expression
looked weary and slightly displeased. She had seemed to be in a good mood
earlier, but that had evidently been part of the act, for now shades of ill
humor were flashing across her eyes.
“You really saved me back there,” Amane said.
“I take my eyes off you for one second… Really, I was only gone for a
short while. Unbelievable. I wouldn’t have left you alone if I knew this would

happen…” Mahiru was muttering to herself.
With a sudden rush of guilt, Amane noticed his gaze had drifted lower and
lower over Mahiru’s body. He seemed to be the only one who was agitated
by the close contact—Mahiru didn’t seem to be paying it any mind.
“You really don’t know how to tell a stranger off, do you, Amane?”
Mahiru didn’t show any sign of being aware of Amane’s internal turmoil. She
just looked exasperated.
“Maybe I can’t turn them down, or maybe I just don’t know how to
handle that type of stranger. They were girls, so I didn’t want to act rough or
use strong language. I wouldn’t know what to do if I made them cry or
something.”
“Honestly, I don’t know whether you’re gentlemanly or a total loser.”
“Hey, shut up, that was the first time something like that has ever
happened to me, so I couldn’t help it. I never would’ve imagined in a million
years that girls would come over and talk to me.”
Amane never would have thought, with so many people hanging around,
that someone would talk to him of all people.
“Assertive girls are incredible, huh? They even approach antisocial guys
like me.”
“…The way you look now isn’t really antisocial… If anything, you look
more like a fresh, friendly young man.”
“Those are very nice words that don’t describe me at all.”
“Well, a makeover can only go so far…”
“How nice of you to say.”
Mahiru was right—even if he looked a little nicer on the outside, there
could be no mistake that inside he was as gloomy as ever. Amane laughed
despite himself.
This straightforward way of speaking was also one of the things he
appreciated about Mahiru. He found it very endearing. It was far preferable to
being lied to.
He knew she definitely was not intending to disparage him, so he accepted
her words with a gentle understanding.
But Mahiru sighed for some reason. “Okay, I suppose I have to just tell
you outright. You’re definitely not bright or cheerful, but I wouldn’t say
you’re gloomy, either. To me, you seem calm and composed, and when I’m
with you, I feel calm, too. Like I can relax. Even if we’re not talking, I feel

comfortable when I’m by your side, and I think that’s wonderful.”
“…Oh, you do?”
Her compliments were embarrassing, and Amane could only manage a
short reply. Mahiru didn’t seem satisfied, though. She pressed against his arm
again, seemingly unaware of how weak it made him.
“And how do you feel when you’re with me?”
“…At home, I feel calm.”
“And now?”
“…Now I can’t relax at all. Because someone keeps pressing her chest up
against me.”
That must have been completely unexpected, and she must have been
completely unaware of what she was doing, because Mahiru froze stiff and
looked down at her own chest.
And then her face turned red with such force she looked like a boiling
kettle.
“I thought you were doing it on purpose.”
When he joked that she had been causing him terrible distress, to the point
it bordered on harassment, she glared up at him with slightly teary eyes. It
didn’t have the slightest impact, probably because he knew she was doing it
to hide her embarrassment.
“Wha—? Y-you dummy, I would never!”
“I know that. I was joking, sorry.”
He knew that if he teased her too much she would start sulking, so he
apologized quickly to defuse the bomb. Mahiru’s raging emotions now
extinguished, she grumbled only a small complaint. But she didn’t really
have anything more to say and instead settled on punching him once in the
side to vent her anger.
Smiling at her obvious frustration, Amane took hold of her hand again to
make sure there was some space between them.
“Don’t cling to me so closely.”
“…Can we still hold hands?”
“I’ll lose you if we don’t.”
If they let go of each other and got lost in the Golden Week crowds, it
would defeat the purpose of going out together in the first place.
“…What would you do if you lost me?”
“I would use my phone to contact you and pick a place to meet up, like

normal.”
“How pragmatic.”
“Guess so. Well, I’ll try not to let you go.”
If he let her slip from his grasp and made her wander around by herself,
Mahiru was far more likely to get hit on, so he didn’t intend to let her look
like she was alone.
Mahiru had specifically requested this outing and probably wanted to
enjoy a pleasant day rather than being hounded by people she had no interest
in. Besides, even though Amane knew Mahiru was often approached by other
guys, he didn’t have to like it.
At Amane’s words, Mahiru stared deeply into his eyes, then lowered her
gaze to their joined hands. And then her lips curved softly into a smile, and in
a voice as gentle as a blooming flower, she said, “…Yes. Please don’t let me
go.”
She whispered quietly and entwined her fingers with his. Trying not to let
her sense his sudden panic, Amane responded in kind.
“…So this is a game center…”

After they finished at the clothing stores and variety shops and had made a
few purchases, Amane led Mahiru to his favorite arcade.
Coming here had been her idea. They had put this place last on their list of
destinations; so even if they won prizes at the crane games, they wouldn’t
have to carry them around everywhere. After this, they were going straight
home, so they had plenty of time. Finishing the day here had undoubtedly
been the right call.
Apparently, Mahiru had never come here with Chitose, either, and she
looked adorable, marveling at everything around her.
“There really are all sorts of games here, huh?”
“Sure are. Not just crane games but arcade games and physical games,
too. This game center has a ton of different types.”
“I can see that. And it’s super loud.”
“Ah, most places like this are.”
Mahiru was frowning a little, reminding Amane that the cacophony
typical of game centers could be grating to the ears for someone not
accustomed to it. He was used to this ambience, so he was fine.

The section with slots and arcade games was even louder, so he weaved
his way around those areas as he walked through the game center with
Mahiru following behind him.
“So what’ll you play?”
“I want to try a crane game. I want to try winning a stuffed animal.”
Her sights seemed to be set on the crane games. She looked around that
section of the game center, alternately squeezing and releasing his hand in her
excitement.
It was Golden Week, so the game center had gotten a lot of new prizes
and had stocked plenty of cute stuffed animals that were more family-
oriented, so there were plenty that Mahiru would probably like.
“…Amane, I want to get that one.”
“Hmm, which one?”
“That one. That cat… Don’t you think it looks like Silky?”
The toy Mahiru was pointing at was a cat with white fur that turned dark
brown around its face. With its blue eyes, it did indeed resemble Silky, the
cat who had first greeted Mahiru at the cat café, and she seemed enamored by
it.
“It really does look like her. You want it?”
“I do. Can I try?”
“Sure. I think the machines here are easy to win, but if you can’t get it, I’ll
get it for you.”
“I’ll try my best so you don’t have to.”
Eager to take on this new challenge, Mahiru squared off against the crane
game, while Amane hung back and watched. If Amane was to take a turn, he
could easily secure the prize, but Mahiru wanted to win this one, and it was
best to let her tackle the challenge alone.
She inserted a coin and timidly pressed the first button to move the crane
arm to the side for just a moment, then checked its position. Typical of the
prudent Mahiru, she seemed to be confirming how far it would move with
one press of the button.
But with this type of crane game, once you let go of the button, it shifted
into vertical-movement mode.
“Wait, huh? It won’t move.”
“Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Once you let go of the button, it shifts to
vertical movement, so you’ve only got the one chance.”

“Ah, so now…”
“No matter what you do, it won’t reach the stuffed animals.”
The toys were placed in the middle of a wide open space, but the arm had
only barely moved away from the drop chute, and all that was left to set was
vertical movement. No matter how Mahiru struggled, she wouldn’t be able to
touch the prizes.
This game center also had the type of crane games that were timed and
used a lever that could move in all directions, but this particular machine was
the button type, so there was unfortunately no going back. This happened to a
lot of people when they were first playing crane games, so there was really no
getting around it.
“Well, that hundred yen is gone, but you still have the vertical movement,
so you can use this as a chance to get a feel for the speed the arm moves and
the lag after you release the button. Then you can use that information on
your next try.”
“Hmm… I’ll do that. It’s my fault for being careless,” she said, then
moved the arm with intense concentration, paying careful attention to the
speed.
Amane felt like he hadn’t given her enough warning on her first attempt,
so he quietly inserted another coin, which made Mahiru look at him with
dissatisfaction. Amane said “It’s fine” and patted her on the back for
encouragement. Reluctantly, she returned to her game.
She must have more or less figured out the speed at which the arm moved,
because on her next attempt, she was able to line it up laterally with the
position of the stuffed animals.
It was somewhat off-center, but she still had a chance to reach her target
along the vertical axis. Even if she didn’t grab right in the center of the toys,
considering the arm’s center of gravity and the force of its grip, plus the
timing of when it released, she could still get something.
Mahiru was a total beginner, but Amane was impressed with how
skillfully she was already playing. She carefully moved the arm along the
vertical axis until it was more or less above the stuffed animals, then tried to
pick up the stuffed cat.
Her aim was good, but the toy was slightly oblong, so when the arm
squeezed, the center of gravity shifted immediately, and the cat fell.
“Hmm.”

“Almost. Instead of trying to pick up the actual toy, it’ll be easier if you
move it with one side of the crane arm and take advantage of its center of
gravity to make it roll over.”
Luckily, the partition around the drop chute wasn’t very tall, so if she
could roll the cat, it should fall down.
Mahiru blinked intently, then obediently carried out the movements as she
had been told.
One thing he appreciated about Mahiru was her ability to take advice
without getting angry or stubborn.
She made another attempt for the cat, taking into account the position of
the arm and the stuffed animal’s center of gravity.
“So I’ll do this here…and move the head…”
Mahiru’s serious expression was reflected in the game cabinet’s glass.
Amane laughed quietly so she wouldn’t hear him.
After inserting several more coins and trying for a while, Mahiru finally
moved the toy into the prize chute with the crane arm.
She let out a quiet gasp as the stuffed cat fell with a plunk against the flap
covering the end of the prize chute.
After a moment of silence, Mahiru looked up at Amane, slightly stunned.
“…It fell.”
“Yeah, good work… Look, it’s proof of your victory.”
Amane retrieved the stuffed animal she had fought so hard for and held it
out to Mahiru. The reality that she had finally won the prize seemed to be
sinking in. Right before his eyes, an expression of delight transformed her
beautiful features.
“I—I got it. I got it, Amane!”
“You sure did. You did great for your first time.”
He patted her head for a job well done, and she squinted in embarrassment
and tightly embraced her prize, the stuffed cat that closely resembled Silky.
She seemed especially happy that she had won the toy by herself and
smiled in satisfaction as she rubbed her cheek against the stuffed animal.
Amane was feeling a bit jealous of the stuffed cat as she squeezed it
tightly with a cherubic smile. He was having a hard time keeping his
emotions in check as he watched her celebrate.
Mahiru embraced the stuffed animal with an expression of incredible
delight, but then suddenly she looked in Amane’s direction and timidly held

the toy out to him.
“…Um, will you…accept this?”
“Huh, me?”
“Well, you’ve given me so many, and you seemed to really like Silky,
so…”
Amane liked cats, and that cat in particular had been cute in the way she
resembled Mahiru. But he couldn’t come out and say that, so he just
scratched his cheek and nodded.
“…Or you’re a guy, so you don’t need stuffed animals; is that it…?”
“No, that’s not why. I was just wondering if it’s really all right for me to
take it, since you worked so hard to win it.”
“I was trying to win it for you. I mean, I don’t want to sound pushy,
umm… But you said it looked like Silky, so I thought maybe you liked it,
so… If you don’t want it, I’ll decorate my apartment with it, but…” She
looked up at him uneasily, shoulders drooping a little as if disheartened.
There was no way he could turn it down now.
“All right, I’ll take it and keep it in my room. Though I, uh…I won’t put it
by my pillow like you did with yours.”
“I—I wish you’d forget about that…”
“I’ll treasure the cat.”
Amane politely accepted the stuffed animal from Mahiru, grabbed a
carrying bag for prizes from the dispenser nearby, and placed the cat inside.
Mahiru watched him with a happy smile, and Amane was just about to
extend his hand to her again, when—
“Huh? Shiina?”
A voice called out to her from somewhere nearby, and Amane froze.
Mahiru stiffened, too, and they both turned awkwardly to face the
direction the voice had come from. Standing there was a young man whose
handsome face was both innocent and dignified… Yuuta Kadowaki.
“Kadowaki?”
At the sight of Yuuta, Mahiru immediately put on her angelic smiling face
that she displayed at school. But it seemed a little stiffer than usual, probably
because she was still struggling to regain her composure.
It was Golden Week, so they were well aware there was a good possibility
of running into their classmates, but they had never expected to meet
someone they had recently started hanging out with.

“It’s surprising to see you in a game center… Uh, did I interrupt
something, perhaps?”
Yuuta noticed Amane and looked worried. He didn’t seem to have
recognized yet that it was Amane, but as soon as Amane spoke, he was sure
to be found out. On the other hand, Yuuta’s attention was focused on Mahiru,
so there was a chance that Amane could escape notice.
“No, not at all…,” Mahiru said.
“This is the first I’ve heard about you having a boyfriend, you know.”
“He’s not my boyfriend; we don’t have that kind of relationship.”
Amane felt a twinge of heartache at Mahiru’s flat denial, but it was true
that they weren’t dating, so he really didn’t have any right to complain. It
would have been stranger if she’d said otherwise.
“W-well, to all appearances… Hmm?”
Yuuta, obviously bewildered by Mahiru’s stubborn demeanor, was about
to question her again, when he suddenly focused his attention on Amane.
Their eyes met, and Amane’s cheek twitched.
Yuuta stared hard, as if puzzling over what he saw. This was an extremely
bad situation for Amane.
“…Fujimiya?”
Just as Amane expected, Yuuta recognized him.
They hadn’t been hanging out for that long yet, but even so, it was clear
that Yuuta was perceptive. No matter how differently Amane dressed or
styled his hair, he couldn’t deceive his new friend.
Amane had hoped that maybe Yuuta wouldn’t look at a stranger so
closely, and he did look pretty different today, but Yuuta didn’t miss the
connection.
“Huh, Fujimiya… It’s you, right? I can tell now that I see you up close…
Could it be, you two knew each other long ago and met again at school?”
“No, well…”
Yuuta seemed to take it as confirmation when he saw Mahiru hesitating to
answer. He looked back and forth between Mahiru and Amane, appearing
downright astonished.
Before he’d started hanging out with Yuuta, Amane might have denied
everything, but now that wasn’t even remotely possible. He sighed heavily
and pressed on his forehead, then looked up at Yuuta, who was wearing an
inquisitive expression.

“…I’m impressed that you recognized me.”
“I knew it! Well, somehow I just knew it was you, Fujimiya.”
“Is it that easy to tell?”
“Nah, I don’t think anyone in our class would figure you out that quickly.
You don’t make that sort of face very often.”
Amane wasn’t sure what “that sort of face” meant, but for the time being,
Yuuta didn’t seem to have made the connection between Amane and the
“mystery man” Mahiru had been spotted with, so he was relieved.
“Anyway, it’s really something else to run into the both of you, together
like this.”
“…There’s no point in hiding it, so I’ll just tell you. It’s like you said, we
have indeed known each other since before we started second year. I’ll even
admit to being good friends. But we really don’t have the kind of relationship
that you’re imagining, Kadowaki.”
“…Oh really?”
“Really.”
Mahiru had not hesitated to deny that there was something going on, so
even though it made him sad to say it, Amane was also clear in his denial. It
would cause trouble for Mahiru if the misunderstanding went any further or
became more complicated. The one who found them just happened to be
Yuuta, so he wasn’t all that worried, but there would be trouble if others
became suspicious—and their secret got out. He absolutely had to forbid
Yuuta to speak of it.
Amane adopted a firm stance, and Mahiru grasped his sleeve and looked
up at him. She seemed to have something to say but didn’t make any move to
open her mouth, so for the time being, he didn’t press her.
Yuuta watched Amane’s and Mahiru’s behavior, and whether he
understood or didn’t, he shrugged slightly.
“Hmm… Well, that’s all fine and good. I have to say, it’s just like Itsuki
said.”
“What did he say?”
Amane’s eyes narrowed involuntarily when he thought about Itsuki
having some slip of the tongue.
“Nothing you need to worry about.” Yuuta laughed. “But he said you look
cool when you get dressed up properly. I was just thinking you do look really
sharp.”

“That sounds sarcastic coming from you, Kadowaki.”
Amane could do nothing but smile bitterly at the compliment from the top
heartthrob in their year, maybe in the whole school.
Yuuta was the type of guy who didn’t have to try to be attractive. Guys
like Amane, who had to spend time getting dressed up just to look decent,
were always destined to be jealous of guys like him. Amane didn’t go so far
as to begrudge the other boy his good looks, but he did on occasion imagine
having a more lustrous life if he’d only had the good fortune to be born like
that.
“I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic. Just saying, you should style yourself like
this all the time.”
“No way; it would be a pain to set my hair every morning. And it would
stand out if I suddenly showed up at school looking like this.”
“Well, that is true, but… Shiina, you must have known that Fujimiya
could look like this?”
“That’s, well… Yes.”
Mahiru nodded uncomfortably as Yuuta turned to study her.
It wasn’t a look of scrutiny or distrust. More like he was searching for
clues.
“Mm-hmm, I think I understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That you also don’t want to cause Shiina any trouble.”
Mahiru looked startled by his words. Yuuta laughed quietly and said,
“You’re easier to read that I expected, Shiina.”
He gave a thin smile. It looked somewhat warm, yet lonely in a way—and
perhaps even tinged with a bit of jealousy.
“Um, Kadowaki?” Mahiru asked hesitantly.
“Hmm?”
“Well… I’d like to ask you not to say anything about this to other people.
About us being f-friends, and…everything.” Mahiru would be troubled if he
said anything, so she also asked for his silence.
Yuuta nodded readily. “Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. I think I
understand why you want to keep this hidden, and I appreciate how you feel.
Besides, I’ve found that once rumors about you are spread around, you don’t
much enjoy spreading them yourself.”
Amane had never been so grateful that Yuuta was such a person of

character. Also, he imagined that their situation was probably something
Yuuta could deeply relate to. He was extremely popular with the girls at
school, and so he often had to deal with jealousy from members of his own
sex, and on the flip side, if he ever made friends with a member of the
opposite sex, that girl would be in danger. He had told Amane as much, so he
was probably speaking from experience.
Even if they didn’t have a romantic relationship, if it became known that a
plain guy like Amane had become friends with the graceful angel Mahiru,
who turned away every suitor, there was bound to be trouble.
Amane was very grateful that Yuuta apparently understood that and
would keep his peace.
“Thanks, Kadowaki.”
“Yeah, well, I think it’s the normal thing to do. And besides, I wouldn’t
want to do anything to jeopardize our relationship, Fujimiya. Not after I
finally managed to make a friend.”
Yuuta flashed one of his bright smiles at them, and looking at him, Amane
keenly understood why this boy was so popular. Even speaking as another
boy, Amane thought that Yuuta was a friendly, earnest guy, so he could
understand how the girls might find him utterly charming. It wasn’t just
because he was handsome; he was also a good person. The other guys in their
class didn’t stand a chance.
“Oh, that’s right. Fujimiya?”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
That day, which Yuuta casually mentioned in a slightly coy tone, was the
day when Amane, Itsuki, and Yuuta had planned to go to karaoke together. In
other words, Yuuta was telling him he would be asking for more details about
this situation then.
When their eyes met, Yuuta was wearing a playful smile, underpinned by
his peculiar brand of confidence.
“Got it,” Amane answered, though he really felt like running away.
Mahiru watched Amane and Yuuta with a hint of jealousy.
“Sorry about that.”

They had separated from Kadowaki and were on their way home, and on

the walk to the apartments from the nearest train station, Amane apologized
to Mahiru in a quiet voice.
Mahiru, who was quite satisfied that she had won some other small toys at
the game center, blinked her caramel-colored eyes in surprise at this sudden
apology.
“What are you apologizing for, all of a sudden?”
“Well…for getting found out by Kadowaki.”
“Surely that was an accident. Besides, I think everything turned out all
right. He seemed to be rather understanding…”
Now that she said that, he knew it was true, but even so, he was annoyed
that someone suspected that they were dating.
Fortunately, Yuuta had not hung around long, probably because he could
tell how uncomfortable Amane was in that situation. Still, it had tugged at
Amane’s heart to hear Mahiru deny everything so definitively.
“Besides, it’s not like we weren’t aware that something like this could
happen when we decided to go out,” Mahiru continued. “Considering the
possibilities, I think we’re lucky it was Kadowaki who saw us.”
“You’re right. For better or worse, Kadowaki knows, but at least he’s
being cool about it. He really is a stand-up guy.”
It’s a good thing he’s the one we ran into.
Amane had resigned himself to being cross-examined later, but when he
considered that he would no longer have to feel guilty about continuing to
conceal things from Yuuta at school, it was actually probably a good thing
that they were discovered.
Amane had a feeling that Yuuta had also discerned how he felt about
Mahiru, but as long as he didn’t tell Mahiru herself, there would be no
problem on that front.
He would probably get teased a little bit at karaoke, but Yuuta and Itsuki
both had some discretion in that area, so he shouldn’t get it too bad.
“…Amane, you have quite a high opinion of Kadowaki, don’t you?”
“Hmm? Uh, I guess so. We’ve had more and more chances to talk, and
I’ve come to realize he’s popular because he’s a really good guy. He’s really
attractive inside and out.”
“And you trust him, don’t you?”
“Trust him…? Well… Yeah, I think he’s a stand-up guy.”
Amane already knew he could be pretty picky about the people he hung

out with. If he didn’t like someone’s personality, he would naturally keep
them at arm’s length. But Amane’s gut told him that Yuuta was a good guy,
and that was exactly why he wasn’t too panicked at being found out.
“All right, well, they do say birds of a feather flock together,” Mahiru
mused.
“I don’t know if I belong to that flock…”
“You’re putting yourself down again, Amane. Kadowaki decided to be
friends with you because he liked your personality, right? Isn’t that the same
thing you thought about him? And Kadowaki, who you think is trustworthy,
recognizes something good in you, so you ought to have more confidence.”
Mahiru gently poked his cheek with the tip of her finger, and Amane
smiled softly at her.
Of course he couldn’t grant her wish, but as someone who always thought
the worst of himself, he was grateful for her reassurance.
Amane chuckled quietly at Mahiru’s sudden lecture on self-confidence,
but he also felt very grateful toward her.
“You’re always saying nice things about me, huh, Mahiru?”
“Well, I’m only telling the truth. It’s not good for you to always be so
hard on yourself.”
“It’s a habit.”
“Well, why did you develop that bad habit? It’s a real pain, you know.”
Mahiru grumbled in open frustration.
He wasn’t sure how to answer the question. Though he knew perfectly
well the reason why.
The simple answer was that he was afraid of failure.
Humans are quick learners. That goes for things both good and bad.
Amane didn’t want to fail, and he didn’t want to get his hopes up, only for
others to turn on him. So in order to protect himself from disappointment, he
kept his expectations low.
But he didn’t know how he should tell Mahiru that. And honestly, he
didn’t particularly want to have to explain it.
Mahiru stared at him with clear eyes, like she could read his mind. Then
just as he started feeling uncomfortable, she looked away, leaned toward him,
and pressed herself against his upper arm again.
“If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to, but please just remember
that I accept you, okay? It’s not good to be so hard on yourself.”

“…Sure.”
“If I need to, I’m going to praise you until you beg me to stop.”
“Whoa, scary. You say it like that, but I really do want you to stop. I can’t
take it anymore.”
“Well then, you need to have more self-confidence.”
Mahiru smiled faintly and squeezed his hand. Feeling heat gradually
surging up through his chest but not wanting to destroy this pleasant moment,
Amane didn’t let go. He just replied with a quiet “Thanks” and kept walking
down the road home.
He didn’t want to let go of her hand, but he knew that they would have to
let go once they reached home, so he deliberately walked a little slowly, and
Mahiru matched his pace without saying another word.

“Now then, I would like to ask you a bit about what happened the day before
yesterday.”
It was two days after Amane’s outing with Mahiru. The day he had plans
to go sing karaoke with Itsuki and Yuuta.
As soon as they had assembled and entered their reserved room, Yuuta
immediately turned to him with a smile.
Amane had prepared himself for an interrogation, but even so, he felt
really awkward being asked about this again.
Itsuki seemed to have heard about the incident from Yuuta and was
wearing an expression that said Uh-oh, you got caught! He wasn’t even
trying to hide his amusement.
After bringing the cup of melon soda he had gotten from the self-service
drink bar to his lips and wetting his throat, Amane reluctantly began to
explain.
“…It’s nothing that serious. Itsuki and Chitose knew about it already.
Mahiru and I live next door to each other. That was honestly a total
coincidence. And well, a bunch of things happened, and we got closer, I
guess.”
Thanks to Chitose, there was no use in trying to conceal the fact that they
were already on a first-name basis, so as he explained the situation, he used
Mahiru’s name like he always did at home.
“You got to know each other, and then you went out together?”
“Yeah.”

They were obviously more than simple acquaintances. In the best-case
scenario, they looked like friends, in the worst, lovers. But as far as Amane
was concerned, for the sake of Mahiru’s honor, he had to flatly deny
everything.
“It’s definitely not the kind of relationship you’re imagining, Kadowaki,”
he reasserted.
“And I have a feeling it’s not quite what you’re describing, Fujimiya.”
“Come on—”
“Their situation goes way beyond friends, I’d say,” Itsuki interjected.
“Considering Shiina comes over to make dinner for him every day.”
Amane’s cheek twitched as he glared at his friend. “Itsuki!”
“The truth was gonna come out sooner or later, so it’s better to just hurry
up and spill it all now.”
When he put it that way, Itsuki was probably right, but by suddenly
providing the detail that Amane was eating Mahiru’s home cooking every
day, he all but guaranteed a misunderstanding.
“…So she’s like your girlfriend?”
“Not even a little,” Amane insisted. “We both live alone, so it’s more
convenient to split the food costs and make enough for two; that’s all.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely all it is…,” Itsuki said without a trace of sincerity.
Yuuta looked unimpressed. “That’s not very convincing, Fujimiya…”
“Not you too, Kadowaki…”
He and Mahiru definitely were not in love with each other, but he was
having a hard time explaining that, and the way Yuuta was staring at him was
making him nervous. Not that he’d been all that composed to begin with.
“Normally, a girl won’t hang around a guy she doesn’t approve of, and
she definitely wouldn’t follow him into his apartment. Unless she’s the one
chasing after him anyway.”
Yuuta’s addendum at the end sounded like it came from a place of
experience, which reminded Amane how wary Yuuta was of girls and their
intentions. But he was right, more or less, Amane realized.
Girls, and Mahiru in particular, were usually very careful and typically
didn’t approach guys without reason. Amane recognized that the fact that
Mahiru associated with him at all was close to miraculous. But he knew this
was a special case.
Amane just couldn’t imagine she would ever like him as a guy, or

anything like that. Sometimes he even thought that the reason Mahiru was so
comfortable around him was because she didn’t even consider him a man.
“…Fujimiya, you’re so hard on yourself,” Yuuta said. “And you can be
really stubborn.”
“What he said,” Itsuki agreed.
Itsuki and Yuuta were both looking at Amane with exasperated looks, so
it was really uncomfortable.
“So when it comes down to it, do you like Shiina?”
Yuuta chose to thrust this outrageous question at him at the exact moment
Amane took a drink of his melon soda to mask his discomfort, and he very
nearly spit it back out. “…Why would you ask that, all of sudden?” he
sputtered.
“Well, you’re being pretty cagey, but I saw how you acted when you were
out with Mahiru, so I’m sure you must care about her, even if only a little.
Plus, I could tell by the way you looked at her—and by your whole
demeanor, really—that you like her.”
Amane nodded meekly. “…Is there something wrong with that?”
Man, Yuuta sure as hell pays close attention…
For some reason, Yuuta smiled wryly at him. “No, it’s not bad or
anything, but…mmm, it probably won’t be easy, I’d imagine.”
“I have no delusions about dating Mahiru.”
“Yes, yes, I can see there are still some things you don’t understand.
Itsuki’s here to give you some encouragement, too.”
“You could say that,” Itsuki muttered. “What I really want is to give him a
strong kick in the ass.”
Yuuta nodded. “I know just how you feel.”
“Don’t tell me that’s where you two agree…,” Amane groaned.
So now Yuuta’s ready to kick me in the butt, too?
“Look, man, the thing is: It’s really frustrating to watch,” Itsuki said. “We
want you to push the issue a little.”
“Give it a rest already!”
“Hold on; just listen for a sec, all right?” Itsuki continued. “Shiina lets her
guard down around you. If you put a little pressure on, she’ll give in for
sure.”
“Okay, listen, I admit, Mahiru probably likes me, but…she doesn’t like
me that way; you know what I mean?”

Itsuki made it all sound so easy, but Amane knew better.
To begin with, he was incredibly self-conscious about the very fact of his
deep affection for Mahiru. He did have to admit that she seemed to care about
him more than any other guy, but he didn’t think her feelings were romantic.
Instead, he figured it was something akin to the way you might feel about a
close and trusted confidant.
“How can you say that, when you’ve seen the way she looks at you?”
“What would she find attractive about me?”
When Amane offered that rebuttal, Itsuki smacked him on the back as
hard as he could.
“…Oww!”
“I feel bad for hitting you, but come on, are you kidding me? You
seriously have way too little confidence! You lose your nerve or run away at
the most crucial moment.”
“…Yeah well, so what? That’s just how I am. I can’t help it.”
“We’ve got to break the habit, then. You’re way too down on yourself.”
“Mahiru tells me that a lot.”
“…So it’s bothering Shiina as well?” Yuuta asked.
“It’s bothering all of us who have to watch him!” Itsuki clamored. “This
guy is so stubborn about things like that.”
“Shut up, will you!”
Amane really hated it when people ganged up on him.
This was just the way he was, and even if he did try to change, it certainly
wouldn’t be that easy. Traumatic memories didn’t just go away because he
wanted them to. Not enough time had passed yet for him to try to forget and
move on.
Amane was well aware of how pathetic and worthless he was, but there
was nothing he could do.
“I mean, I can’t force your hand if you tell me you’ve had enough,” Itsuki
said. “But if you like Shiina, and you want to go out with her, you need to try
harder.”
“…And you think I can do that?”
“If you weren’t such a wuss…”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Come on, that’s enough,” Yuuta chided. “But I do have to say I agree
with Itsuki. You should have a little more faith in yourself, Fujimiya. Really,

you’d get a lot of attention at school if you dressed up like you did the other
day. Maybe you should give it some practice.”
“Practice?”
“Well, you didn’t have any trouble getting dressed up for Shiina, and you
didn’t freak out when I saw you like that, either. So maybe practice your new
look on people you know, so you can get used to it. A good way to enjoy this
precious break, don’t you think?”
“…Meaning what?”
“Let’s see; I’ve got some hair wax in here somewhere…”
Swiftly, Yuuta pulled some men’s grooming wax out of his bag. When
their eyes met, Yuuta was grinning boldly. Typical of the class prince, it was
a lovely smile, but it sent a chill down Amane’s spine. “So how about it?” he
asked.
“…I’ll pass.”
“Come on now, don’t be shy.”
“Hey, uh, aren’t we at a karaoke parlor? Shouldn’t we be doing karaoke or
something?”
“Oh, you’re right!” Yuuta replied. “Okay, I’m gonna sing, so I’ll entrust
Amane to your capable care, Itsuki my friend.”
“Just leave it to me.”
“You’ve gotta be joking…,” Amane muttered. All he got in return was an
enthusiastic grin.
“I mean, usually this isn’t the kind of thing I’d do by force, but…in your
case, Amane, it’s time you got used to being the center of a little bit of
attention, so I’ve got to take drastic measures!”
“Hey, you can’t… Waah!”
Itsuki grinned and brandished the comb and hair wax, and though Amane
tried to back away, there wasn’t enough space for a proper retreat in the small
karaoke room.
Amane was forced to endure Yuuta’s joyful singing while Itsuki meddled
with his hair.
“…Welcome ho…me…?”
When Amane made it back to his apartment, Mahiru came out to greet
him with a question in her voice.

She was making stewed hamburger steaks for dinner and had let herself
into Amane’s apartment early to make the sauce.
She had sent him a message saying that dinner was nearly done, so he
knew that she would be at his place, but when he saw Mahiru’s face again, he
felt a rush of relief.
“I’m back…”
“Why do you look so worn out…?”
“…Itsuki had his way with me.”
Itsuki had never seen Amane’s “mystery man” look, so he had styled
Amane’s hair in a way he thought looked cool, which of course didn’t really
fit what Amane was used to.
To make matters worse, after they were done with karaoke, the other boys
had dragged him to a store that carried the type of clothes that Amane wasn’t
likely to have and then embarked on a hunt for something that would suit
him.
He hadn’t particularly hated the experience or anything, but he was
completely exhausted, having been treated like a dress-up doll by his two
friends.
“Uh-huh, you had a tough time, didn’t you?”
“…They played with me like a toy…”
“You must be tired.”
Maybe because she could tell he wasn’t actually upset, Mahiru let a quiet
chuckle slip out as she commended him for his patience.
Feeling slightly embarrassed at being so transparent, Amane tossed the
bag containing the new clothes he had purchased into his room and went to
the sink to wash his hands.
Mahiru returned to the kitchen to serve dinner, so when Amane entered
the living room after properly washing his hands and rinsing his mouth, she
had already set the dishes of stewed hamburger steaks down on the dining
table.
Amane felt bad for not helping, so as he always did, he headed for the
kitchen to dish up the cooked rice.
Amane had always thought rice paired nicely with hamburger steak, and
the indescribable sweet aroma of freshly cooked rice made him smile.
“Man, I’m really tired… But actually, it made me appreciate Itsuki and
Yuuta again. They’re amazing.”

“What do you mean?”
Once they had set out the salad and potage soup and taken their seats
across the table, Mahiru tilted her head at Amane’s curious grumblings.
“Well, we got hassled constantly while we were walking around. It made
me realize that guys who have always been popular are a different breed of
human. They’re used to that treatment, and the way they go through life is
just different.”
When the boys had gone on their shopping tour after karaoke, for some
reason, various girls who seemed to be about college age had come up to talk
to them several times.
Well, Itsuki and Yuuta were both handsome guys, although in different
ways, so it seemed only natural for them to catch girls’ eyes. They had
experienced the so-called reverse pickup.
They had declined every proposal, though. Itsuki had his true love,
Chitose, and the class prince apparently hated pushy girls. He wore a sweet
smile but was always on guard, and before long, their would-be dates got the
message that he was turning them down. Even when he was rejecting them,
Yuuta was affable and considerate, so he wouldn’t hurt their feelings. And it
seemed to work well for him. Amane had struggled to deal with a similar
situation earlier, and he was impressed by his friend’s well-practiced tact.
“…Did the girls talk to you, too, Amane?”
“They did, but only because I happened to be with the guys.”
If he had to guess, the girls were really only interested in his two friends
and saw Amane merely as a nice bonus. After all, as he well knew, he was
very bad at talking to strangers. Once in a while, somebody would talk to him
when he went out somewhere, but this time there had been two exceptionally
handsome guys next to him, so no one was going to give him a second look.
Amane shrugged and grinned wryly, but for some reason, Mahiru was
sticking her lip out in a little pout.
“What is it?” he asked. “You want to tell me I’m being too hard on
myself?”
“Well, there’s also that… But that’s not it.”
“What is it, then?”
“…If you don’t know, then don’t worry about it,” Mahiru said
unhelpfully, before pressing her hands together in thanks. “Let’s eat.”
Amane was perplexed, but he mimicked her and pressed his hands

together, giving thanks for the food and for Mahiru.
It was the day after the three boys had gone to karaoke.
As usual, Mahiru had come over to Amane’s apartment.
Recently, she had been spending a lot of time there when she wasn’t at
school. In fact, since the start of Golden Week, she had been at his place
almost every day. Even if she wasn’t there during the day, she would always
come over to make dinner in the evening. Amane was of course quite happy
to have the object of his affections close by, so he let Mahiru do whatever she
liked.
Today, she was next to him playing on her phone. Fiddling with her phone
was a completely normal thing to do, of course, but she was staring at the
screen with a bit more enthusiasm than usual.
And while it would have been an invasion of her privacy to peek at the
screen, and Amane had no intention of doing so, he couldn’t help but say
something, since it was so unusual for Mahiru to be absorbed in her phone
like that, when she usually only used it to contact someone or look something
up.
“What have you been looking at all this time?” Amane ventured, figuring
that just asking wouldn’t be rude.
For some reason, Mahiru jumped at his question. Then she turned to look
in Amane’s direction with a nervous frown. Amane was puzzled. He wasn’t
sure what might make her act that way.
Then Mahiru turned away from him. She only did that when she was
feeling guilty about something.
“…You’re hiding something,” Amane insisted.
“H-hiding…? Well, promise you won’t get mad?”
“Are you doing something that would make me mad?”
Amane had been told that his resting facial expression looked a bit sullen,
but he very rarely got angry, and he had never before gotten truly upset with
Mahiru. He didn’t think she’d give him a reason to lose his temper—at worst,
he could imagine getting a little annoyed.
“…Depending on how you’re feeling, you might get upset.”
“Hmm. Well, why don’t you tell me, and we’ll see?”
“…Well, your mother has been…sending me old photos of you.”

“Oh, I’m sure she had plenty to share…”
He had a lot of questions for his mother about why she thought it was
okay to send Mahiru photos of him out of the blue like that.
“W-well, there’s a reason, you see. Your mother and I were talking, and
we just happened to get on the subject of Children’s Day, and… and I said ‘I
bet Amane was really cute when he was little…’ So you see…”
“Wait, let me take a look at them. She didn’t send you anything really
outrageous, right?”
When it came to old photos, there were sure to be some Amane had
forgotten about. But he could definitely remember a few that captured
embarrassing moments he would rather nobody see. His mother really ought
to have let him inspect the pictures before sending any to Mahiru.
Mahiru refused to answer his question. She wouldn’t even look him in the
eye. From her reaction, Amane could guess that the photos were something
he wouldn’t like. He glowered at her but wasn’t about to try to rip the
smartphone out of her hands, so he decided to press her until she capitulated
and confessed.
“Mahiru…would you rather cooperate and show me the photos, or am I
gonna have to bug you till you do?”
With a serious look on his face, Amane sat up on one knee and put a hand
on the back of the sofa behind Mahiru’s head. He leaned in close to her,
leaving her with little room to escape.
Mahiru’s face would go pale when she saw he had cornered her…or so he
thought, but instead she flushed red and squeezed her favorite cushion to her
chest. She looked even more nervous than before but still wasn’t talking.
Is it that bad…?
Amane had a sinking feeling. He continued staring intently into Mahiru’s
eyes, but he didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for. Far from it, she tried to
push the cushion into his face.
Amane grabbed the cushion and tossed it aside. He didn’t understand why
she was making such a big fuss. Mahiru must not have been holding the
cushion too tightly, because he was easily able to pull it out of her hand and
send it rolling across the floor.
Mahiru still hadn’t budged from her spot on the sofa.
“Come on; it’s time to fess up,” Amane whispered as he closed in to pinch
her cheek.

Without warning, Mahiru flopped down on the sofa. It happened so
quickly that Amane couldn’t react, and on her way down, Mahiru collided
with the arm he’d been using to support himself, so he also lost his balance
and tumbled down onto the sofa. Fortunately, he managed to catch himself
before he crushed Mahiru, but he ended up much closer to her than he
expected.
Both of them froze at this sudden proximity.
Their bodies weren’t too close, but their faces were so close that their
breath intertwined, and if he leaned in just a little, their noses would bump.
Amane was close enough to see that the long eyelashes that rimmed Mahiru’s
wide, caramel-colored eyes were quivering slightly. At this distance,
Mahiru’s characteristic sweet scent filled his nostrils, and he didn’t know
what he should do.
Both of them were frozen stiff, but Mahiru was the first to move.
Her light-pink lips trembled, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Her
face was flushed, and she was taking shallow, timid breaths. She appeared
nervous, as if she was preparing for some kind of impact, but her lips looked
soft and sweet. She seemed simultaneously innocent and alluring. Mahiru
practically embodied such contradictions. Amane couldn’t look away.
The sight of her aroused both his desire to protect her and the urge to
make her his, and in spite of his better judgment, Amane reached out his hand
—
—and pinched Mahiru on the cheek.
“Wha—?”
“…That’s a funny face,” he muttered with a wry chuckle.
Mahiru’s eyes flew open, and her expression changed in an instant.
Instead of the bashfulness from before, now it was more like equal parts
shame and anger. She glared at him through tear-filled eyes. “Is that what
you’re going to say after pinning a girl down and touching her face?”

Amane smiled again. “Okay, okay, that was my bad. I wasn’t expecting a
struggle.”
“Oh, well excuse me for putting up a fight!” she replied. “It only
happened because you pushed me down!”
“That was because you were hiding the photos my mom sent you behind
my back.”
“Ack! …Ughhh.”
When it became clear that Mahiru wasn’t going to say anything else,
Amane moved off of her, still smiling. He slipped a hand between the sofa
and Mahiru’s back and helped her sit up. Mahiru moved her lips like she was
mumbling something to herself and made an odd expression.
“So…,” Amane said. “Are you going to let me examine my own
photographs?”
“…Knock yourself out,” she said with resignation. She still sounded
annoyed, and her face was as red as ever, but she showed Amane the image
list from the chat between his mother and her.
If he was to point out how badly she was blushing, she would probably
rush right out of his apartment, so Amane resisted the urge to say anything
else as he looked away so Mahiru couldn’t see his face.
…That was a surprise.
Amane was trying to stay calm, but even now his heart was pounding out
a rhythm with explosive force.
He wasn’t sure what he might have done to Mahiru if he hadn’t stopped
himself and pinched her instead. She had certainly shown no signs of
stopping him.
Man, I was almost a real jerk just then…
Shame weighed heavy in his gut. Yes, it had been an accident, and maybe
they were both at least a little bit to blame. But that certainly didn’t make it
okay to touch Mahiru so intimately, in a manner usually reserved for lovers.
That would not have been acceptable.
If he had gone ahead and kissed her, he was sure Mahiru would have burst
into tears or something along those lines. It wouldn’t have been right to do
something like that. He wasn’t her boyfriend or anything. And if he had done
it anyway, she would have definitely cut him out of her life for good.
Amane didn’t want to be the kind of selfish person who only thought
about what he wanted.

“…Amane, you said you wanted to check the photos, but are you even
going to look at them?” Mahiru asked. She sounded even more sullen than
before, and when Amane looked in her direction, he saw that the redness in
her face had finally started to abate somewhat, and she had her cheeks puffed
out a bit.
“Sorry, I was busy thinking.”
“Dummy.”
Mahiru didn’t often insult him, and she had used a word that was kind of
cute, but Amane could tell from her tone that she was running out of
patience, so he quickly looked down at the smartphone.
In the photo roll were pictures of Amane from preschool and elementary
school. At a glance, he didn’t see anything especially painful, so that was a
relief, but there were images of him beaming with an innocent smile he
couldn’t even imagine emulating now, so he still felt awfully embarrassed.
Amane’s face was turning red for a different reason at this moment, and to
distract himself from the shame welling up inside, he glanced over at Mahiru.
She was no longer wearing a sullen expression—instead, she was staring
dreamily out into space with her hand over her mouth, looking dazed.
Sensing that he wasn’t supposed to see her like that, Amane quickly
lowered his eyes back to the phone.
His heart was pounding again, and he tried to focus his eyes and his mind
on anything else.

“…Come to think of it, Amane, are you doing anything for Mother’s Day?”
Mahiru asked quietly, as if she had just remembered the holiday. They were
watching television together, and she’d noticed a listing for a program
labeled as a Mother’s Day special. Amane had tried to casually change the
channel, figuring that Mahiru wouldn’t like being reminded of her parents,
but she didn’t seem particularly bothered.
He nodded, feeling a little relieved that she wasn’t upset. “Well, I guess
I’ll send a small present and a bouquet to the house.”
It was a little bit of a hassle, but she was his one and only mother, after
all, and he figured as her son he ought to show his appreciation for everything
she did for him. But since he was out of the house now, it wasn’t like he
could go say it in person.
“Well, since I’m far away, that’s about all I can do. If we still lived
together or close by, I would try to do a little more, but…”
“Like help with the housework?”
“Honestly, if I try to help, I just end up making more work for her.”
Thanks to Mahiru, Amane had learned how to do basic housework, or at
least enough to get along okay on his own. But he didn’t think he would be
able to do everything to his parents’ standards, so they would just end up
redoing everything in the end.
“I guess you would.”
“I don’t know how I feel about you agreeing with that…”
“…But you have learned enough to keep up with the everyday chores. I

mean, it’s far from perfect, but you can get by now.”
“That’s a harsh appraisal. That said, you’re not wrong.”
“Heh-heh. You’ve still got a ways to go, Amane.”
“Yes, yes, I’m no match for the marvelous Miss Mahiru.”
“I’ll say.”
Amane had a feeling that even if he spent his whole life working on it, he
would never get as good at housework as Mahiru was now.
Mahiru laughed, a little surprised by Amane’s words, and slapped his
upper arm, but there wasn’t any malice behind it, so he didn’t complain.
“I don’t know how your parents could make you live alone when you
couldn’t even take care of yourself, Amane.”
She probably hadn’t meant to say that out loud—but she’d obviously been
thinking it.
When they’d first met, Amane had been such a mess that even Itsuki had
been worried about him. So it was no surprise Mahiru would doubt him now.
She knew exactly how bad it could get.
Amane pretended not to notice the shock of pain that went through his
chest and shrugged. “Actually, I don’t think they ever wanted to let me out of
their sight? I was a real loser with absolutely no life skills, after all.”
“So it was your decision to move out on your own?”
“Yeah. Some stuff happened, and I didn’t want to stay in my hometown
anymore.”
If he made it sound too serious, Mahiru was likely to worry, so he tried to
gloss over it, attempting to keep his cool while he did.
Mahiru froze. Immediately, shades of remorse began flickering through
her caramel-colored eyes. Amane hadn’t meant to upset her, but Mahiru, who
was particularly sensitive to other people’s pain, had gotten a glimpse of the
baggage he was carrying. Sometimes her insight could be troubling.
Amane regretting mentioning it in the first place. He reached out and
patted Mahiru on the head as she grimaced at him.
“Ah, you really don’t have to worry about it,” he said. “Actually, it puts
me in a tough spot if you’re too worried about me. Really, it’s not that big of
a deal. There were just some guys in my hometown who I would rather not
see again, so I left.”
In reality, it hadn’t been that serious. Just that something he had earnestly
believed in had crumbled from its very foundation; that’s all. He hadn’t been

physically injured or anything like that, and now that he had cut off all
contact with those guys, he was living a normal life, and the dull ache of old
wounds had faded into the background.
Despite what he said, Mahiru’s melancholy expression didn’t go away.
Amane was stumped. “I’m really fine, you know?” he insisted. “If it was still
painful, I wouldn’t be talking about going home to visit. As far as I’m
concerned, it’s in the past.”
“…Liar.”
“Liar? Listen here—”
“If you really were over it, you wouldn’t be making that face.”
Mahiru trembled slightly as she extended a hand toward Amane’s cheek.
Her eyes were downcast, so he couldn’t even see a reflection of his
expression, but going off what she said, it probably wasn’t anything good.
“…If you don’t want to say, that’s fine. But it’s painful for me to see you
looking so hurt.”
“Don’t say that. It’s not that big of a deal; it’s not even an interesting
story, okay?” Amane insisted. “Are you still worried about it, even so?” he
asked quietly, and Mahiru nodded slightly.
Amane scratched his cheek and wondered what to do. He let out a soft
sigh.
“Hmm… I wonder where I should begin. Well, I guess it makes sense to
start with why I wanted to leave my hometown, huh?”
“…Yes.”
“It’s because I wanted to get some distance from my friends…or I guess I
should say from the people who I thought were my friends.”
It didn’t sound like a very good reason for moving. Anyone else would
probably think he was worrying too much over something small.
And yet that time of his life was etched indelibly into Amane’s memory.
“How should I put this…?” he began. “Well, I was blessed with a good
home environment.”
Mahiru looked a bit curious about this abrupt change in topic, but she
must have understood that this was necessary to understand the full story
because she listened quietly.
“I had relatives—my parents and grandparents—who loved me, and we
were well-off. Financially, I mean. They let me study and do whatever I
wanted. I was very lucky, and I know that.”

His parents had been especially doting on him, since he was their only
son, and they had raised him in a way that respected Amane’s individuality.
“But at that time, I wasn’t really aware of how incredibly blessed I was,
and I had never learned to be suspicious of people. I was surrounded by good
people and was raised with love, so to be honest, I was a really naive child.”
Now Amane was sulky, but before the incident took place, he had been so
honest and cheerful it was impossible to imagine, looking at him now. He had
been a really childish child.
“…I think that my naïveté made me especially easy to deceive and to
use.”
And so there had been many openings to take advantage of him.
“The new friends I made in the first half of middle school… I don’t
actually know if I can honestly call them friends, but the guys who I started
hanging out with… Well, to tell the truth, they saw me as an easy mark, as a
good source of money. When you come from a well-off family, it’s only
human for people to want to get something out of you.”
It sounded pathetic to say it, but back then, Amane had been honest to a
fault and incredibly gullible. In other words, he was easy to fool. He’d grown
up believing in the innate goodness of others, and nothing had ever
challenged that redundant naïveté. Nobody he knew would have ever tried to
take advantage of him.
Mahiru’s expression had grown stiff, so in order to try to relax her,
Amane smiled and said, “Of course, I wasn’t a total fool, so I never directly
gave them any money or anything.” But Mahiru’s expression only got even
more severe.
“And then, well, I discovered that they were saying all sorts of things
behind my back. They trashed my appearance. I heard them say I was gross
and that they hated me and had only ever intended to take me for all I was
worth from the very beginning. I was shocked and pretty depressed for a
while.”
People all have different preferences when it comes to who they get along
with, and Amane wouldn’t have minded if they’d just said they didn’t like
him. But since they thought they could get something out of him, they had all
smiled to his face and abused him in private, and that was something he
couldn’t bear.
He had told Mahiru the mild version of the story, but there had also been

insults that would be difficult to repeat, so he had really endured a lot. Now
he would be able to shrug off abuse like that, but at the time, he had been an
earnest and sensitive boy, and it had just been too much for him to bear.
“Of course, I knew that not everybody in the world was like those guys. I
had a few friends that I believe really liked me. Even so, once I started
doubting people, fear took over. I couldn’t trust anyone.”
He had shut himself up in his room for a while and cried.
He had eventually recovered, thanks to his parents’ support, but as one
might expect, he was afraid to come into contact with those boys again, so he
did every last possible thing to avoid them for as long as he could—
“…And so I left my hometown. I left to get a fresh start in a place where
no one knew me. I left so I wouldn’t be bothered by those guys anymore.”
He hadn’t known whether he could make it on his own, but he’d decided
that his peace of mind was worth the risk.
Thanks to everything that had happened, he could no longer easily trust
people like he once had and had grown into an introverted and skeptical
young man who had just finally managed to make two friends after taking
ages to warm up to them. Amane had to laugh at himself. For better or worse,
he had become quite conservative, but at this point, that attitude was deeply
ingrained, and there was no changing it now.
Amane had finished talking, and Mahiru was trembling. Her hands were
balled into fists, and the emotion flickering in her eyes was unmistakably
anger. Amane was surprised to see the mild-mannered Mahiru get so enraged,
and then he was even more baffled when he realized that she was angry on
his behalf, and that brought him a little joy.
“…If I had been there, I would have punched those awful guys right in the
face.”
“Please, no; you would just hurt your own hand… And you don’t have to
get your hands dirty for my sake, even in your imagination.”
Those jerks weren’t worth Mahiru getting her hands dirty—not even
close. And anyway, Amane had already cut them out of his life. It would be
nothing but a waste for Mahiru to even bother with them.
Mahiru relaxed a bit. She’d been squeezing her hands so hard they had
started turning white. Some of the anger faded from her face, replaced by an
even deeper look of sorrow.
When it came to Amane, Mahiru could be so compassionate it almost

hurt. But this incident was in the past, and Amane was embarrassed to have
upset her over it.
“Really, it wasn’t as agonizing as your situation, so you don’t have to be
so sad.”
“Amane, it’s not something that can be compared. I don’t even want to
try.”
She cut him off flatly, and Amane frowned when he realized that had been
rude, but she looked at him and put on a calm expression.
“Let me say this—it’s not that there’s no value in sharing our experiences,
but your grief is your own, and it’s something that only you can carry, and it
can’t be compared to my grief. Nothing is better or worse. In the truest sense,
I can’t understand your pain, Amane, nor can you understand mine.”
“…Ah.”
“What I can do is accept your sadness and support you…just like you’ve
done for me. I want to be there for you, and I want you to rely on me.”
Mahiru whispered this as she placed the palms of her hands against both of
Amane’s cheeks.
He gradually felt a heat rising from the depths of his chest and behind his
eyes. “…But I already rely on you all the time,” he said.
“Emotionally, I mean.”
“I always rely on you.”
“…Well, do it more.”
“Don’t spoil me, please.”
“I’m going to. So, so much.”
“I’m really not worth it.”
“Why are you worried about that now? I’ve always known you were a
hopeless case, Amane.”
He felt himself grimace when she casually delivered this harsh and yet
undeniable truth. But even though she sounded exasperated, Mahiru looked at
him with gentle, loving eyes that communicated the opposite.
“…But I also know you’re a very good person, and you can endure a lot.
Too much, even,” she continued. “You can at least let me spoil you a little.”
Her sweet whispering voice, genuine and kind, threatened to obliterate
what little resistance Amane had left. He could imagine himself letting her
spoil him forever, and the thought struck a deep chord of fear within him,
because he knew that if he let himself grow too dependent on the girl he

deeply loved, nothing would ever seem as sweet.
For the sake of preserving what little dignity he had left, Amane slowly
shook his head. “Really, I’m fine,” he insisted.
Mahiru batted her eyes and sighed dramatically. “…You’re trying to act
cool again,” she said wearily. “You big dummy.”
Mahiru mocked him sweetly, then slipped her hands from Amane’s
cheeks around to the back of his head. And then she pulled him toward her
with all her strength.
Before he could react, Amane’s face was pressed up against Mahiru’s
chest. He froze. He could feel the softness of her skin and hear the beating of
her heart, and when he inhaled, his lungs were filled with her sweet scent—a
mix of milk and some kind of flower, with a little note of something bright,
like green apple—and his mind was utter chaos.
“Please, just let me spoil you,” she said.
“…You’re really forward” was the best answer his addled brain could
muster.
But Mahiru’s shoulders trembled with laughter. “Did you just realize that?
Sometimes girls can be very pushy, you know,” she whispered impishly.
Fully aware of Amane’s bewilderment, Mahiru gently wrapped her arms
around his back so he couldn’t get away. Of course, she was still a slim
young woman, so if Amane wanted to shake free, he probably could have.
However, the sweet scent and Mahiru’s warmth, plus her pleasant softness
and the calming rhythm of her heartbeat, sapped all of Amane’s willpower to
defy her.
“…Besides, I’m the type of person who always repays a debt,” she
whispered. Amane had to fight to keep from losing himself in her warmth. “I
relied on you before, Amane. You spoiled me, too, remember? And now it’s
my turn, all right? Let me spoil you back. It’s the least I can do.”
“…It’s more than enough.”
“Well then… Someday, when I’m feeling down again, you can be there
for me, and that will make us even.” Her tone of voice was playful, and it was
clear she had no intention of giving up.
Amane surrendered at last and leaned into Mahiru. But this time, he put
his arm around her back and made sure to lean against her shoulder, instead
of her chest. It was the best he could do.
Mahiru smiled at Amane’s choice, then tightly embraced him and

accepted his full weight.
“This isn’t right…”

Several dozen minutes had passed, though it felt like much longer for
Amane. When he raised his head and pulled away from her, his voice was
cold and had an edge. He wasn’t angry at Mahiru, though. He was ashamed
of himself, for taking advantage of her kindness.
But Mahiru just smiled and showed no sign of concern. “Well, I do hate to
see you feeling sad, so…next time I’ll try to spoil you even sooner.”
“…That’s not exactly what I meant…”
Amane caught himself glancing down at her chest again. He quickly
averted his eyes. She was being so kind to him, and he didn’t want to be
vulgar. He’d managed to keep himself in check this time, but next time, he
thought, he might not be able to save himself so easily.
Mahiru trusted Amane. She wouldn’t have embraced him if she wasn’t
comfortable with him. But he was still somewhat surprised that she was being
so insistent.
And although her tenderness had eased the pain of his old wounds, that
only left him free to focus on the new aching in his heart.
“Why do you always turn away from me?” Mahiru asked.
“I don’t know what to do with myself when you spoil me like that. I
mean, I am a guy, after all.”
“I know that…”
“It’s not clear that you do. Like, seriously.”
She should be more careful, he thought. What if he had taken advantage
of her and rubbed his face wherever he pleased? What would she have done
then? He wanted her to understand that there were some lines she shouldn’t
let even him cross.
He wasn’t confident he would be able to control himself the next time he
was faced with the temptation of being given the go-ahead to bury his face in
the chest of the girl he loved. Amane sighed. Mahiru was too trusting and
would probably forgive him for almost anything.
Mahiru’s eyes narrowed. She looked absolutely hurt.
“…Amane, I don’t understand you at all.”
“What about me?”

“Everything, all of it. You dummy.”
Mahiru stood up from the sofa in an angry huff. Even her insults sounded
adorable. Leaving Amane to ponder her anger, she turned away and headed
for the kitchen.
He watched her leave in a daze. She looked so small and unsteady, but
just a moment ago, she’d been supporting him.
“Amane, you’re such an airhead sometimes.” She kept on rebuking him in
a quiet, angry voice that she apparently didn’t think he could hear, so Amane
just watched her go with a shrug and a smile—
“Even though I wouldn’t do that for anyone but you.”
And then his ears picked up another quiet grumble.

His breath caught in his throat.
For a second, his brain refused to process her words. It was so shocking to
him.
He forced himself to take a shallow breath.
And then the intense surge of emotion swirling in his chest practically
forced Amane to his feet. He found himself reaching out toward her.
“…Hey, Mahiru?”
“What is…it?”
Before she could turn around, Amane had wrapped Mahiru up in his arms,
embracing her tightly as though he were shielding her from the world.
Mahiru’s slender frame began to tremble, and her voice wavered, but she
didn’t push him away or seem upset. He could tell she was shaking with
surprise.
Amane wrapped his arms around her delicate body. Just a moment ago,
she had been supporting him. Now he put his chin on top of her head so she
couldn’t turn around.
“…You didn’t mind hugging from the front, but now that it’s from
behind, you’re spooked,” Amane teased.
“Anyone would be surprised by being hugged so suddenly!”
“You’re the one who said I could lean on you. Though I held back
because I knew this would happen… It’s bad for my heart.”
Amane hadn’t meant for this to happen. He was going to let Mahiru go off

and pout, but when he’d heard what she’d said, he felt a sudden surge of
emotion, embarrassment, and elation all at once, and reason left him—and his
body had sought out Mahiru of its own accord.
Gently, yet tightly, like he didn’t want to let her slip away, he held on to
Mahiru, who felt like she might shatter if he squeezed too hard.
Mahiru tried to wriggle her way around to face him, but Amane whispered
into her ear, “Don’t turn around.”
She hung her head. Her face was bright red, and he heard her mutter, “…
You dummy.”
…I am a dummy; you’re absolutely right.
He couldn’t deny it. Here he was, taking advantage of her kindness in a
vulnerable moment… He was certainly a bad person.
But Mahiru hadn’t pulled away from his touch, and he was grateful for
that at least. He enjoyed her warmth as he pressed his face into her hair, just
as she had done to him earlier, when she was trying to get him to accept her
generosity. The difference between then and now, Amane thought, was that
he knew how she would respond.
“Now do you understand how I was feeling before?” he asked.
“I—I do, but—”
The shrillness in her voice told him she was upset. Her ears were red, and
even though he couldn’t actually tell from this angle, Amane had no doubt
that her face had also turned the same intense color.
Even Amane understood he had done something bad. He’d only done this
because he had been sure she wouldn’t turn him down.
“…Um, so look. You really don’t need to worry so much about me,” he
said. “It’s not like I’m dying from some terrible condition or something. And
besides, I can be pretty shameless, so if you spoil me too much, I’ll end up
taking advantage of your kindness.”
Mahiru listened quietly to Amane’s words, then let out a sigh. “…If you
find it satisfying, if it helps heal you, then I’m not going to refuse a hug.”
She reached up with one hand and gently touched him on the arm. She
didn’t brush him away or smack him; she simply placed her hand gently on
his arm, as if to draw him closer. Amane warned himself not to get too
carried away, but he still pressed his face into Mahiru’s hair again.
“I’m a crafty guy, you know. I knew you would accept the burden, so I
started relying on you.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve always known you’re trouble.”
Amane knew his recent actions had stemmed from his own cowardice, but
he wasn’t quite sure what she meant by trouble.
“…I feel like there’s something you want to say to me…”
“Yes, if you have any self-awareness at all, then it’s time to shape up and
fly right. My heart really can’t take any more of this.”
“I really don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” Amane protested.
“Mm-hmm,” Mahiru hummed, then slapped Amane on the arm. It didn’t
hurt, and he laughed quietly at her playful attack.
“I’m sorry for being so much trouble.”

“…Well, if you’re going to be trouble anyway, you might as well go all
the way.”
“But… What you were saying earlier…”
“That was that, and this is this.”
“Oh…?”
He wasn’t sure what Mahiru meant, but she certainly seemed to have
something in mind, so far be it from Amane to argue.
If Mahiru thought he seemed troublesome, then he probably was. But he
didn’t know how to respond when she told him to up the ante.
“I can be crafty, too, you know,” Mahiru said. “So I suppose I really don’t
have much room to complain.”
“In what way, Mahiru?”
“Hmm, I wonder?”
He felt her body tremble slightly with laughter.
“If you haven’t realized yet that I also have a few tricks up my sleeve, you
still have a long way to go, Amane.”
Even though Amane couldn’t see her face, it was clear she was laughing
gleefully. Gracefully, she slipped out of his arms and whirled around to face
him.
Her expression when she did was vibrant, and mischievous, and tender,
and sweet—a lovely and beautiful smile that would enchant anyone who saw
it. Amane was speechless.
When she saw Amane like that, Mahiru seemed satisfied, and she turned
and headed for the kitchen in her usual high spirits.
Amane watched her leave the room and then collapsed onto the sofa.
…You’re a big dummy, too, you know.
What was she trying to do, flashing him a look like that? He didn’t think
he could string together the words to ask her. All he could do was sit there,
grumbling quietly.
But the pain in the depths of his chest was gone.

“…Mom, you can’t just send Mahiru photos like that.”
On the last day of Golden Week, Amane phoned his mother.
He was ostensibly calling to ask whether she would be at home on
Mother’s Day, but before he could do that, he felt the need to stress his
objection to her going behind his back to send Mahiru photos of him.
Nothing disastrous had slipped through the cracks just yet, but this was his
mother he was dealing with, and he knew if Mahiru asked, she would
absolutely send something mortifying.
So Amane rushed through the typical greetings and right into sullenly
hurling accusations.
“Uh-oh, you caught me,” his mother replied in an indifferent tone.
She definitely was not remorseful.
“Mahiru was acting suspicious, so I questioned her, and then I saw the
photos.”
“Mahiru really needs to work on her poker face, huh?”
“Say you’re sorry for sending them.”
Thanks to Shihoko, Mahiru’s image folder was full of all kinds of strange
pictures, and he was worried what else might make its way to her. For some
reason, Mahiru seemed to enjoy the photos, and rather than forcing her to
stop looking at them, he had decided it would be faster to go right to the root
of the problem.
But his mother didn’t seem the least bit ashamed. “What’s so wrong about

sending photos of my adorable son to my adorable future daughter-in-law?”
“I don’t even know where to start correcting everything wrong with that
sentence… Anyway, don’t send stuff I haven’t okayed.”
“So if I get your permission, it’s fine, right? The photos made Mahiru
very happy, you know.”
“At least give me a chance to choose which ones you can send. I’d die if I
found out you’d sent anything embarrassing.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t send any pictures of you in the bath.”
“If you do, I’m boycotting Mother’s Day.” Amane scowled at his
smartphone as he delivered his ultimatum. His mother wasn’t on hand to feel
his wrath directly, so that would have to do.
She obviously did not appreciate how upset he was, because she laughed
gaily at his demand. Before Amane could raise his eyebrows and go off on
her again, she added, “One way or another, you always show your
appreciation for me every year, don’t you?”
When Amane heard that, he held back his complaints.
“…I mean, yeah, you’re my mom.”
Of course, she could be irritating and obstinate, and sometimes he got
completely fed up with her, but his mother had carried him in her belly, given
birth to him, lovingly raised him to be healthy—and she did it all with plenty
of love, so naturally he was grateful to her.
Thanks to his parents, Amane had grown up okay and had rebounded
whenever he’d gotten hurt. He had turned out a little sulky, though.
But since it was embarrassing for a young man of his age to express
gratitude directly to his mother’s face, he faltered a little.
His mother laughed cheerfully, as if she could see straight through her
son. “It makes a mother happy to see that she’s raised a good child. I’m
looking forward to this year’s flowers.”
“…Yeah.”
“Also, make sure you invite sweet Mahiru here for the summer, okay? I’m
looking forward to it.”
His mother was obviously excited for his homecoming.
“Got it,” Amane replied curtly, and he was treated to another laugh.
“Well, Mahiru wants to come anyway,” he continued. “It seems like she’s
looking forward to it as well.”
“It sounds like you are, too, Amane.”

“Oh, be quiet.”
He was excited about the prospect of spending the summer with Mahiru,
but he didn’t appreciate being teased about it by his own mother.
Suddenly, Amane was in a bad mood, but Shihoko didn’t seem to notice.
On the other end of the line, he could hear the peals of her cheerful laughter.
“Heh-heh. That’s great. It sounds like you’re okay with the idea of
returning home.”
“…I guess so.”
She was probably thinking of the summer after his first year away, when
he had resisted going home during the break.
Now Amane was more positive about going home than he had once been.
It wasn’t that he had forgotten the past. Even though he had experienced
certain hardships, he could see now that it had probably been for the best.
Things were much better than they would have been if he had stayed so
trusting and good-natured, thus inevitably exploited for all he was worth.
More importantly, if he hadn’t escaped those guys, he never would have met
Mahiru.
“If I let what happened derail my life any more than it already has, Mahiru
would kill me. So yeah, it pretty much doesn’t bother me anymore.”
“You told Mahiru?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s wonderful. That’s one more person who really understands you.”
His mother sounded very happy, and Amane felt his chest grow just a
little bit warm.
“…Sure.”
“So that must mean those photos of you from middle school I had held
back on sending are fair game. I’ve got one from when you hit your growth
spurt. You looked so smug because you’d gotten taller than me. And that’s
just the beginning!”
“Hey, listen, I’m not kidding. Cut it out, all right? You’ve got some awful
stuff in reserve.”
All the warm feelings he’d had toward his mother evaporated.
“But you were so cuuute!”
“Dammit. This time, when I come home, I’m taking those out of the
album.”
“I’ve got that album hidden,” Shihoko countered. “So they’ll be fine.”

“I’m definitely going to find it,” he insisted.
He had to dispose of the photos before Mahiru saw them. He could just
imagine Mahiru grinning as she told him what she thought of them after his
mother smuggled them into her hands behind his back.
He could hear Shihoko laughing at him on the other end of the line, and
with a curt good-bye, he hung up on her, sighing angrily.
“…What are you doing?” a quiet voice asked. He turned to see Mahiru,
peeking inquisitively at him from the living room door. It looked like she had
heard him talking and tried not to make any noise as she entered the
apartment.
Amane averted his eyes. “I was talking to my mom, telling her how I’ve
decided to completely destroy her photo albums. Scorched earth.”
“Wh-what do you mean?! That’d be awful!” she exclaimed. She sat down
next to him in an angry huff and jabbed him in the shoulder.
Amane grimaced. “What are you even hoping to see, Mahiru…?”
“Photos of you, from long ago, of course…”
“No way.”
“…You see? I have no choice but to get them from Shihoko, behind your
back.”
“Hey, listen—”
“I’m just joking. Well, half joking anyway.”
“Geez… It’s the other half that worries me, you know.”
Amane couldn’t help but feel like if he dropped the matter, Mahiru would
end up plotting something with his mother behind his back. On the other
hand, Mahiru was a good person, and he trusted that, whatever happened, she
wouldn’t do anything too outrageous.
Amane sighed dramatically, but Mahiru didn’t seem bothered by it.
Instead, she smiled broadly, looking pleased. “…I don’t think you’re going to
like this much, but I’m really looking forward to summer vacation.”
“You’re kinda early,” Amane replied. “Golden Week isn’t even over yet.”
“Well… I’m looking forward to seeing your mother and father again, and
I can’t wait to check out your photo album, and I really want to see the place
where you grew up with my own eyes.”
Amane felt his heart leap as she adorably rattled off her list, but she had
added in one item too many.
“Thanks…except for the album thing. The album is off-limits.”

Mahiru gave him a peevish look when he shut her down, so he stroked her
head to distract her from the existence of the cursed photo album.
Mahiru apparently liked having her head stroked more than he had ever
expected. She still looked a tiny bit dissatisfied, but when he gently touched
the top layer of her hair, careful not to mess it up, she quickly settled down.
“…I’m looking forward to going home, too,” Amane admitted.
“Really?” she asked.
“Why would I lie about that?”
“…I mean, with everything that happened…” Mahiru hesitated, probably
recalling what he had revealed to her yesterday.
“That thing with those guys doesn’t really bother me anymore. Just the
fact that you’re upset about something that happened to me really means a
lot. How do I put this—? I think I’m a pretty lucky guy to have someone
who’s willing to get genuinely angry on my behalf.”
He knew it was a small, simple thing, but just having someone who
listened to him talk about those old wounds—and be there to support him—
had already gone a long way toward helping him heal.
Besides, it was clear he couldn’t carry on being depressed about it. Sooner
or later, he would exhaust Mahiru’s patience with him, and he didn’t want her
to think he was completely hopeless.
“It’s only natural that I would be angry you were hurt, Amane. I mean, if
someone was to hurt me, you would be angry, right?”
“Of course I would.”
“So it’s the same thing,” Mahiru asserted softly, letting her eyes drift
closed. Amane could tell how much she enjoyed it when he stroked her hair.
Amane felt a little embarrassed by how much she trusted him, but he
continued gently caressing her, and she smiled graciously and leaned against
him.

Golden Week, which had seemed both very long and painfully short,
eventually came to a close, and school began again.
…Finally, I can get some distance from Mahiru.
Mahiru had spent nearly the entire Golden Week at Amane’s apartment.
He’d said it was okay, was grateful she had made their delicious meals, and
was happy to spend time with the girl he loved.
But ever since the day Amane had told Mahiru about his troubled past, his
feelings for her had only grown, and now he found it almost impossible to
calm his turbulent emotions.
Mahiru trusted Amane wholeheartedly. She spoiled him, certainly, but in
a way she also took advantage of him, testing the limits of his emotional
fortitude. And knowing he was the only one allowed to touch her sent his
feelings into overdrive.
Really, he thought, I deserve some kind of award for self-control. If only I
didn’t have to hold back, I bet I could ask her out. I might even get a good
answer—
Mahiru had been so accepting of Amane, but he knew he didn’t have the
guts to tell her how he felt. Just the thought of her rejection made him want to
curl up and die. He knew he was a coward, too afraid to make a move. But
perhaps he was even more afraid of what might happen if she didn’t reject
him, if by some chance she felt the same way about him. He didn’t think he
was good enough to be her boyfriend.
…I’ve got a lot of work to do.

There wasn’t anything he could do about his face, but he wanted to
improve himself wherever he could—physically and mentally. At least
enough so no one would talk behind their backs when he was with her—
enough so Mahiru wouldn’t be ashamed of being with him.
And even if it turned out Mahiru didn’t like him that way, it didn’t hurt to
try. He’d never get anywhere if he didn’t give it his best.
As he made up his mind to ask Yuuta, the lean, athletic track-and-field
star, for some training recommendations, Amane passed through the school
gates and reached the shoe lockers, where he caught sight of a familiar face.
“Mornin’…” Itsuki was groggily changing into his indoor slippers. He
gave a puzzled frown when he saw Amane. “…What’s with that face?”
“That’s my line,” Amane said. “And anyway, what face?”
“Well, umm… How do I put this? You look like you’ve made a big
decision. You finally decide to tell her how you feel?”
Amane gave Itsuki an incredulous look. “Hmph. Yeah, right!” But his
friend hadn’t been that far off the mark.
Itsuki stared at him with genuine curiosity. “Huh, well then, what is it? I
thought there would have been some kind of progress by now.”
“P-progress? All right, look—”
“I was sure you’d finally grown a pair and decided to approach her like a
man for a change.”
“Damn, no need to be an ass! Anyway… I was just thinking about how I
have a lot of work to do if I’m ever gonna get her to like me back.”
“Hmm. In other words, over the break, after we went to karaoke…
something did happen! You’re really going for it, eh?!” Itsuki chuckled.
Amane couldn’t think of a clever comeback.
Itsuki slapped his friend on the back as he laughed. “Well, I know you
hate me prying, so I’ll let you off the hook… But if there’s anything I can
help you with, I will, okay?”
“Itsuki…”
“And we can think about double dates, okay?”
“Ah, so that’s what you’re really after,” Amane joked. He knew Itsuki
was only trying to lighten the mood.
Itsuki cackled and smacked Amane’s back again. “Yeah, that’s the dream,
huh…?” Humor was Itsuki’s way of cheering him up.
Amane smiled at his friend, feeling just a little bit more optimistic.

“Whatever you say, man.”
When Amane and Itsuki reached their classroom, there was some kind of
clamor going on. The commotion wasn’t directed at the two of them, but the
lively atmosphere was so different from normal that Amane couldn’t hide his
bewilderment.
After a long break, it was normal for the classroom to be bustling with
stories of vacation, but today it was filled with a different kind of noise—the
bustle of people passing rumors. Amane strained his ears to listen in as he
unloaded his bags at his seat—and it seemed they were all discussing Mahiru.
“I heard that Shiina went on a date the other day with a cool-looking
guy!”
What he overheard made Amane’s cheek twitch violently.
They’d gone to crowded places, so there had always been a possibility
that someone would see them. But Amane had never imagined it would
literally become the talk of the classroom. He didn’t mind the part about
looking cool, but the rest of it immediately set him on edge.
Itsuki had obviously overheard the same thing and was sitting there doing
a very bad job of not smiling. Amane would have liked to give him a good
punch in the arm.
As they whispered about the rumors, all the girls kept glancing over at
Mahiru.
“I heard they were strolling around arm in arm, and she was wearing a
smile no one’s ever seen at school before… It must have been the guy
everyone was talking about at the start of the year.”
“She says she’s not dating anyone, but there’s no doubt now…”
Mahiru, who had come to school early, as always, was preparing for first
period. She either didn’t realize the rumors were about her, or more likely,
she did realize and was trying to ignore them.
She had to be used to the attention, thanks to her beauty and grace, but
that day there were more than the usual number of eyes peering in her
direction, filled with questions. And aside from the curious stares of the girls,
she was getting looks of dead despair from the boys.
If it bothered Mahiru, she certainly didn’t show it. She stubbornly
maintained her usual angelic demeanor.

Eventually, a few of the girls in the class couldn’t contain their curiosity
any longer and gingerly approached her.
“Hey, hey, Shiina?” one of the girls asked timidly.
Mahiru slowly batted her eyes. “Yes, did you need something?” She was
acting like she had no idea what the girls wanted.
“Well, the other day, I think I saw you walking through the shopping mall
with a guy.”
“Yes, I did walk through the mall,” Mahiru confirmed.
A wave of murmuring went through the class. Obviously, everyone had
been wondering if the rumors were true. Amane, at the center of the scandal,
felt sick to his stomach.
“Um, so that guy… What kind of relationship…?”
“What kind of relationship do we have?” Mahiru interrupted. “Well, if I
had to say, I think calling us friends would describe it best.”
Amane was glad Mahiru had answered honestly, but his stomach still felt
like it was tied in knots. His classmates continued to mutter among
themselves. He wished they would all just mind their own business, but there
was little he could do about it. Several of the other boys in class seemed very
relieved by Mahiru’s answer, undoubtedly for different reasons than Amane.
“So it wasn’t a date or anything?”
“A date…?” Mahiru thought for a moment. “Well, when I consider the
definition of a date, I think it counts.”
It was not the answer he had been expecting. In the strictest sense, a date
was when two or more people picked a place and time to meet up, so she
wasn’t exactly wrong… But it was pretty obvious that was not what the girls
had meant.
The small crowd shrieked as their excitement peaked.
From Amane’s perspective, it seemed like since time immemorial, girls
loved getting excited about other people’s love affairs. Normally he didn’t
concern himself with that kind of chatter, figuring it was just what girls did.
But this time, he couldn’t ignore their gossip—because he was at the center
of it.
“S-so what are you saying…?”
The same girl who had asked the previous questions inquired again. Her
voice trembled with a mix of curiosity and hope.
Mahiru glanced at Amane for a split second. That look, gentle but filled

with hints of passion, left him momentarily breathless. By the time he got
ahold of himself, Mahiru had already turned away.
Now Mahiru wore a gentle smile, full of warmth and affection, and
clasped her hands in front of her breast, as if she were tightly holding on to
something very precious. Her answer sent the class into chaos, and it shook
Amane to his core.
“We’re not dating, but to me…he is the most important person on earth.”

Thank you very much for picking up this book.
My name is Saekisan. I am the author. I trust you enjoyed Volume 3 of
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.
As I told you in the afterword to the previous volume, this book is the one
where Mahiru changes it up and becomes a little bit devilish. In Volume 3, I
tried to show her taking a more active role.
Apparently, she understood that if she didn’t make an effort to push,
nothing would ever happen, so she really went all out to manipulate Amane,
but Amane didn’t give in. She was really proactive, but in the end, it was no
good. She couldn’t make it happen, oh no!
Even so, Amane has chosen to move forward in his own way and is doing
his best, so if you would be so kind as to enjoy the two of them becoming
tantalizingly closer, I would be most glad.
That’s because I’m planning to have Amane take a more proactive role in
the next volume as well! Come on, Amane, show us your manliness!
Besides that, we once again have some very cute illustrations by Hanekoto.
What did you all think? Aren’t they just too cute? Our angel really is angelic;
that much is clear.
All the illustrations are so cute I’m at a loss for words, but personally, I
think the ones of Mahiru looking embarrassed are the cutest. Huh? She looks
embarrassed in most of them…? Must be because of Amane, huh…?
In other words, they’re all adorable.
Take another look, everyone.
I’m really looking forward to the illustrations for the next volume… And

I’ve got to believe there will be another one!
Well then, we’ve come to the end, but I must thank everyone who has looked
after me.
To those of you who have worked so hard to get this book published—the
head editors, everyone in the GA Novels editing department, everyone in the
sales department, the proofreaders, Hanekoto, everyone at the printers—and
to all of you who picked up a copy of this book—sincerely, thank you all.
I shall lay down my pen here and pray we can meet again in the next
volume.
Thank you for enjoying my book to the very end!

Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Yen On.
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Yen Press, along with special offers and exclusive content, sign up for the
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The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 3

OTONARI NO TENSHISAMA NI ITSUNOMANIKA DAMENINGEN NI

English translation © 2021 by Yen Press, LLC

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is

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First Yen On Edition: December 2021

Yen On is an imprint of Yen Press, LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBNs: 978-1-9753-3340-9 (paperback)

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“Mooorniiing! Looks like we’re in the same class this year!”

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“…You don’t look so good, Amane.”

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“Hey, are you cool with this?”

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“Oh, Fujimiya, don’t see you here often.”

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Soft puddings with an abundance of heavy cream were delicious, of course,

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“Please go out with me.”

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“Thanks for earlier.”

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